Hide and Seek
by Rebel Paisley
Summary: Shane knew that alternate dimensions were nothing to be afraid of. Even if the whole team was trapped inside, all they had to do was stick together and eventually they would find a way out. There was nothing different about this prison, despite how unique Lothor had made it. They would escape, just like they always did. This time though, there may be a cost.
1. Where are we?

Chapter 1

Where are we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, nor am I making any profit from this story. It is for entertainment purposes only.

Warnings: Violence, angst, adult language, mental abuse, mentions of boy/boy pairings, eventual boy/boy pairings

Extended Summary: Shane knew that alternate dimensions were nothing to be afraid of. Even if the whole team was trapped inside, all they had to do was stick together and eventually they would find a way out. There was nothing to worry about, not even when the days started blending together with no end in sight. Not even when the weight of their newest prison began to beat down on them, breaking them into pieces that Shane could never hope to repair.

My beta ValkyrieNyght requested a Hunter/Shane story that had Hunter being the hero, picking up Shane during a rough time in his life, from either emotional or physical wounds. I'm pretty sure she meant a one-shot. I'm pretty sure she wanted something else entirely.

What she got was me using her prompt as an excuse to pull out this multi-chapter story I had been toying with on my computer, that is, undoubtedly, full of plenty of Shane-angst.

So yes, there _will_ be eventual Hunter/Shane. There will also be a lot of beaten up/broken down characters, emotional suffering, and I can say for a fact, without giving anything away, that there will be things in this story that you, the reader, will not like. I promise though, if you stick with me it will get better. It'll seem unlikely, but cross my heart, I have a plan for this insanity, and it does result in happy endings.

So this one's for you Val, for always pushing me to do better, for never accepting any bullshit, and for being unfathomably generous when it comes to honest criticism. I cannot thank you enough. Without you I wouldn't be nearly as confident in my writing as I am.

I know this isn't exactly what you asked for, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Also, cheers and a bottomless amount of thanks to the real vampire for beta-ing this chapter. So many words vamps, and all of them useful! Thank you for nitpicking all the silly errors my brains seems ever so fond of making. Your analysis and assessment are greatly appreciated. I am in your debt : )

And now, without further ado, I give you story. Enjoy.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-

* * *

The day everything went to hell had scarcely been acknowledged at the time. So abnormally common, it barely had any distinction to all the other abnormal occurrences with which the Ninja Storm team had become accustomed.

Shane wasn't sure how much a tragedy that was. Maybe if they had known from the very start they were doomed they would have…He wasn't sure. They had taken it seriously, they had _always_ taken it seriously, and they had reacted to all the obstacles as best they could but… it just felt like there _had_ to be more. There had to be something they could have done to-

In the beginning there had been hope. There had been the expectation that it was all temporary, that they would find a way out and that it was just a trick, a lesson away and then there would be freedom and victory and battles for another day.

But the battle never ended. They never got home.

They never were supposed to win.

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

Shane landed in a flash of color, the world exploding reds and golds around him as his feet jarred against some rocky outcrop (which…_ow_, hurt), the ground distinctly more rough and uneven than the cement outside of Storm Chargers he had previously been standing on. His vision cleared just as another flare of vivid brightness burst into existence, painfully brilliant (as in _painfully_ painful, which made sense because this had to be an attack, but still, it was worth noting). A second later Tori dropped into view, surfboard tucked under one arm and feet still sandy from the beach. She had a hand pressed against her eyes in an attempt to recuperate, which would prove just as useless as it had been for Shane, but their ninja instincts had yet to outweigh their normal ones so he didn't make any comment on it.

In the meantime he gave their surroundings a quick once over, trying to judge what Lothor's latest test would be.

So…alternate dimension. How _very_ original.

When would Lothor figure out they were not impressed by his pocket realities? Because they weren't. The novelty had died off sometime after Blake and Hunter had gotten trapped in that popcorn container. Which, while _hilarious_, was an obvious sign that the idea pool for proper extra-dimensional usage was running low. They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel if they thought _popcorn_ _butter_ was an appropriate containment device.

Honestly, who had signed off on that idea? It barely made any sense.

"Should've dropped my board," Tori complained, standing up straight as her vision cleared. She moved to rest beside Shane a second later, joining him in his inspection.

Grey, dark, desolate…yeah, at least they were kicking up the gloom and doom factor this time. Felt like a place that easily encouraged despair and general weeping.

Hunter would feel right at home then.

_Harsh_- Okay, Shane could admit that, even if the older Bradley brother _did_ have dark and brooding mastered, there were some cruelties you didn't need to mutter, not even in your mind.

"Don't know how you could have known," Shane replied, continuing his study. He put a hand on her arm and motioned for her to move back, getting their backs against a giant rock mound that was projecting defiantly into the sky. It was sort of like a cross between the hills of Toxipod's island and something out of the Lion King, minus the shrubbery.

Minus any other signs of life in fact.

Forsaken, that would be a good way to describe this place. Maybe Lothor was trying to get them all depressed.

Shane wondered if they would find tumbleweeds. Tumbleweeds were depressing right? He would have to outsource that question to Dustin later, get his take on it. Though he had a feeling the answer would be a resounding _"YES!",_ because that was the type of thing Dustin would know, and he was very enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge.

Tori settled in beside him as he continued scanning the surrounding rock mounds. In the distance, beyond a rough, narrow path was a mountain, dark and ominous against the orange and pink hued sky.

Wherever they were, the sun was setting.

"Yeah," Tori sighed, leaning so that her arm was a comforting presence against his; an unconscious, instinctive movement. "Whatever picked us up did it so fast-"

"We didn't stand a chance," Shane finished, frowning at the total lack of movement around them.

There was nothing. Hell, he could barely feel the presence of his element. And that…

Wait. He _couldn't_ feel any connection to his element. It was like there was no wind at all which couldn't happen - they were _breathing_ weren't they - so why couldn't he-

_Cool it Shane_, he mentally lectured. _You've got to keep it together. Maybe that's Lothor's trick this time, that you can't feel-_

It was so wrong. Shane wasn't the strongest air ninja but even he could sense that distant, delicate presence of his connection to the air, to the wind. He had taken it for granted; always assuming it would be there. Which didn't seem _all_ that unreasonable. The only place without air was space, even water had _some_ air in it, and it wasn't like Shane was ever going to run any missions in the dark beyond.

Because then he'd be _dead_.

Beside him, Tori began shifting uneasily and he could tell she felt it too.

_Marvelous_.

"So what do you say?" Tori began, wrangling the stray hairs that had escaped from her ponytail back behind her ear. "Alternate dimension?"

"Definitely."

Not that it needed to be said, but it was always good to get a second opinion. Step one: confirm their surroundings. Check.

Step two was to figure out their condition and establish a plan of attack.

Shane no longer bothered noting how absurd it was that this had become a usual, that they had all been sucked into these stupid pocket dimensions enough times to actually have a formalized system for dealing with them, because plans brought Dustin comfort and made Hunter stop thinking of them all as unprepared lunatics, and they made Tori smile and Cam pleased and Blake feel pretty much the same because he never cared that much, he was more of an impromptu kind of guy anyway.

They hadn't even been rangers that long. They had been fighting for what, maybe two months? The Thunder Rangers had only officially been on the team for about four weeks before Cam had become a ranger, and he had only been on active duty for a _week_. As far as ranger teams went, they barely had their sea legs.

Satisfied then; Shane would be satisfied. His life was being rebuilt by a new set of rules he had yet to become totally accustomed to, but he could at least take pride in the fact they could manage _some_ order. Taking satisfaction in that confidence, that confidence they had painstakingly built up to, that was fair. No one would begrudge him that.

Except for maybe Hunter, but Hunter was kind've a jerk, so what he thought automatically didn't matter.

"Do you think…?" Tori dropped off, gesturing to her morpher to finish the unspoken question. She wanted to know if the others had gotten teleported in as well or if they were all on their lonesome for this fight.

Shane nodded to show he knew what she was getting at and raised his morpher to his mouth.

"Shane to team," he said. "Does anyone read me?"

"My morpher isn't," Tori said, frowning down at her wrist in concern, and Shane had noticed that too. Noticed that his morpher was only giving him static, which never happened, not even when their long-range transmitting capacities were down. They should always work at a short distance; Cam had beaten that fact into their heads so many times it was practically his way of saying hello.

If even the short-distance radios were out…

Shane didn't like it. He didn't like that his elemental connection was nonexistent, he didn't like the fact their radios were down and he couldn't get a handle on his team-

And he knew, or at least had the sinking feeling, what the results of an attempted morph would be.

No element meant no morphing. They needed that spark, just a little something in order to activate the morphers. That was why _they_ had to be the power rangers as opposed to just going out and getting anyone who could fight. They had to have some kind of elemental affinity or they wouldn't be able to wield them.

Despite this, the air ninja sucked in a deep breath and prepared himself anyway, knowing he had least had to try. He had to…explore all their options, as Cam would put it. Be sure.

With a nod to Tori he repositioned his feet, taking a solid stance, and thrust his hand into the air, trying to call for that initial spark of air energy he needed to activate his morpher.

He didn't even manage to get the first words out; his body's reaction was so strong and sudden. It was like he was grabbing at the edge of some void, the vacancy feeling so unnatural that it struck at him like a physical blow, choking the air in his lungs. He couldn't- it wasn't-

It took him a few long seconds of absolute _pain_ before Shane came back to his senses, before he could hear more than his own pounding heartbeat.

Oh God, that hurt, worse than the teleporting, that had been _awful_-

He blinked his eyes, realizing he was on the ground with Tori perched over him, her lips moving. Her voice came in fluctuations, his ears swinging between deafness and sound before it all eventually came back to him. She was patting the side of his face, one hand on his head as she stared at him with a concerned expression, somehow knowing (always knowing, because she was more perceptive than the rest of them and made sure that they _knew it_) what had happened.

"Hey," he gasped, startling himself with a shaky exhale. "…I don't think-"

"Shut up," Tori said, her attempt to sound stern somewhat muffled by the obvious relief in her eyes. "Don't do that again."

Shane closed his eyes tiredly but still managed a smile. "Will do chief."

He even added a half-hearted salute, unsteady but getting his point across, and Tori smacked the side of his arm lightly, gradually getting back into the old swing of things. It was…harder, because they were both shaky, because this was so different than anything else they had ever encountered before. But that was most likely the point, that this was an alternate dimension and Lothor was finally figuring out how to use them properly.

Lothor _wanted_ them to be scared. He wanted them anxious.

Well, he wouldn't get it.

It took Shane a couple of minutes before he was back in almost-normal condition. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make a full recovery, not with whatever Lothor had done to them. He nodded to Tori to show that he was alright and then looked off into the distance, trying to pick a direction that the others would most likely be in. _If_ they were there at all.

He really hoped they weren't, to be honest. He hoped that he and Tori were the only ones stuck in here.

"Alright," he said, motioning towards the mountain. Even if it didn't pan out well, at least they could get a good view of their surroundings. "Let's move out."

Tori didn't say anything beyond the affirmative that she heard him, probably allowing a small moment of silence to grieve the loss of her elemental connection, or maybe to curse Lothor for actually figuring out a good way to mess with them. Either way, she didn't say anything about the fact he wasn't running as fast as he normally would have.

She also didn't say anything about how her lack of comments came from her own running difficulties, running difficulties she shouldn't _have_, but Shane would figure that out later.

Among other things.

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

So…running sucked.

It wasn't like they hadn't done ten mile runs before. Hell, that was practically a Tuesday for their team, but running without…without a part of yourself?

Yeah, that blowed. A whole hell of a lot. Every hour weighed down on them just a little bit more, and it was becoming obvious they weren't up to their normal standards. Shane couldn't speak for Tori, but that aggravated the hell out of him.

And then there was the nagging fact that they hadn't been attacked yet. Usually, that was how these things worked. First they would get sucked into the alternate dimension and then they would either A) be there for the purpose of _not_ being in the real world, as in, they would be trapped in some four by four cell, or comatose, or suffering from some sort of hallucination, or B) Lothor would throw some obstacle at them that was essentially a curveball, making them find a way around until they could win. Toxipod's island was a good example. Heck, even Madtropolis' place fell into the latter category.

But no monsters had made any moves for them yet. And having this much freedom of movement was sort of…unnerving, if it really was just a cage.

And maybe that was the point, that he and Tori were trapped and getting more and more haggard, spent both emotionally and physically so they would be next to useless when the others broke them out, and Shane didn't like it.

As the thought dawned on him though, an unsettled feeling washed over him and there was this…tickle, maybe? This insistent grasping at the back of his mind like he was trying to force up memories he couldn't possibly hope to remember, things that were too far away or too irrelevant to bother him. And it…he had the fleeting idea that there _was_ no one on the outside to save them.

Both the feeling and the thought were gone a second later, leaving Shane so dazed and overwhelmed he had to make them stop to take a breather, wondering about where that sudden feeling of anxiousness and dread had come from, and what he had been thinking about.

Five minutes later he could still come up with nothing and Tori was growing more apprehensive, so he decided to move on, making his mind think of other things.

If the depression thing was Lothor's goal, Shane could say he nailed that one with flying colors right now. It was hard to stay positive when the scenery was so…wretched looking, to use a high dollar word.

As much as Shane hated it, they couldn't run forever. He wanted to keep going, but it had been hours and nothing had changed. They couldn't just keep moving and hope they would stumble upon the others; they eventually needed shelter, or at the very least a position that was moderately fortified _should_ they be attacked (definitely an option, Lothor tiring them out and _then_ smacking them down). If they needed to build something they would need energy and daylight, and they were quickly losing both of those.

Tori didn't protest when he decided they should explore the rocky area at the base of the mountain for caves. It looked like the worst of the world was behind them; the wasteland had given away to rocks and woods, towering trees clustered almost on top of each other, leaving no clear path that Shane could see. They brushed against the rocky hills at the mountain's edge, trunks dark and grey. My…stic-cal looking? Perhaps? Like those trees from the Lord of the Rings, except more mournful and gloomy.

Even though the leaves of the magic trees were full and thriving (all the trees were, in fact), and no sight of rot or decay could be found, it still didn't…it wasn't right, Shane knew. They looked alive, hell, they even _smelled_ alive, but they didn't feel right.

He could practically hear Hunter scoffing at him in the back of his head, getting all poetic over a couple of _trees_.

Fine, whatever. They needed to move on.

The woods would probably be their best bet for food later, whenever they managed to find a clearing or a way in, but until then Shane still had a couple of power bars in his backpack. The emergency stash, just in case something like this happened. It never hurt to be prepared. If they ended up staying longer they could try foraging for food but until then they would make do with what he had.

Shane didn't like this place. It made sense because there was no reason for Lothor to create a place they _would_ actually like, but he wanted that to show on the record. This place plus him, he did not like. He was not a fan.

Tori was the one who eventually found a cave, opening tucked behind a couple of rock mounds and one particularly bold tree, its tall limbs draping over the entrance, collapsing under its own weight. Luckily it was shallow so they didn't have to worry about enemies lurking in the shadows and the two of them settled in, minds racing as darkness descended upon them, sun finally set.

This was the longest they had ever been trapped in one of these pocket dimensions. Or maybe it just felt that way because they had arrived just as the sun was setting (a bizarrely long sunset, but Shane wasn't complaining; he was glad they had gotten as much daylight as they had). The fact that they actually had to set up a base camp, or worry about sleeping and food…

_Stupid Lothor_.

It was, in all honesty, to kind an insult to throw at the murderous ninja who was attempting to enslave the earth, but sometimes Shane just had to step back and think of things…smaller, more normally, maybe, so he didn't get overwhelmed. So he didn't acknowledge the massive weight of responsibility he was handling. He knew it was there, but he didn't focus on it on a day-to-day basis. For him, keeping his team alive and healthy and the minimizing the damage done to the city and its civilians, _that_ was the important thing. Focusing on the guy trying to conquer the earth was for another day, after-

One day, he would be ready for that. One day he would be good enough.

They didn't necessarily need to stop once night fell. Not really. Or at least, not technically. Ninjas were big fans of night. Shadows were their weapon, the ultimate camouflage, and while the rangers themselves weren't particularly…unobtrusive, if the bright colored ensembles and loud quipping was any indication, they _were_ still shinobi-in-training.

The bad news was that they weren't particularly good ones yet, and working on their night-vision had somewhat taken a dip on the priorities list when it became obvious they were entrusted with the world's protection. First step was learning how to use their elements to do damage to the enemies as opposed to _themselves_, and the second and unacknowledged step was to have a minor freakout in the privacy of your own room until you came up with a mindset that helped you deal with the fact that _yes_, Power Rangers were real, _yes_, you really were one, and _no_, they couldn't get somebody else to do it, suck it up.

They were still working themselves through the basic shinobi training, but to this point, night vision eluded them.

This probably wasn't the case for Cam or the two Bradley's but they weren't there, so Shane and Tori took no qualms with calling it an early night and trying to get some rest.

They huddled together in the best hidden corner of the cave and grasped at each other's hands unconsciously, waiting for day to come. Tori tried to make a joke about how Shane owed her a new surfboard, her original abandoned back where they started, but they were both too on edge to pretend to appreciate it.

After that they fell into silence, Tori resting her head against his shoulder as she tried to sleep. Shane had demanded to take first watch, too anxious to be able to manage rest and Tori had agreed to take the second. His watch still worked, though it told him it was only 6:30 pm back in Blue Bay Harbor.

He would wake her at twelve, or maybe when it read two or three; he'd see how long it would take for the adrenaline to wear off.

Until then, Shane kept his eyes open and waited.

He did not have to wait long.

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

Shane had managed to sort of lull himself into a semi-meditative state as he stared at the cave's entrance, feeling the closest to relaxed he had since they had been transported into this alternate dimension. What snapped him out of his reverie was nothing more than a feeling he had worked painfully hard to hone into himself, that barest grip of tension that attacked his shoulders whenever he was being watched or when his body had picked up on something his brain had yet to properly analyze.

Finally, _finally_ he could feel like a badass. He had been working on that trick for _months_, even before they had become rangers and-

Someone was watching them, or someone was coming, or _something_ was close to them, had to be, maybe, or maybe Shane was just being overly suspicious because he was so worked up over the wrongness of this place, it was probably nothing, but _could_ it be something? What if he was second guessing himself-?

But Tori was awake too, still against his shoulder, and he could tell she was straining to listen for possible intruders. Not overanalyzing it then, not if she was awake. Of the three of them, Tori had been the most skilled before they became rangers, more apt at detecting things than either Shane or Dustin.

It was that perception thing, legitimately earned.

Shane was trying to decide if they should move to a more strategic position when he heard the barest rustling near the cave's mouth, rocks crumbling and shifting beneath something's weight, leaves being pushed aside slowly but still audible, like care was being exercised-

"_Ka-caw!"_ a voice reverberated throughout the cave, loud and-

Dustin! It had to be, trying to do a rooster call or something.

That was- it was- that was so _him_, Shane could just picture Dustin going through the motions, the entire thought process. _How do I tell if I have friends in this cave? What's a classic signal everyone could recognize? I should totally do that classic signal everyone recognizes-_

It took almost everything Shane had not to burst out laughing.

"_How_ _will that help us?"_ another voice angrily whispered, a few seconds after Dustin's initial call. It took Shane a moment to recognize the voice as Hunter's.

And there was- he couldn't describe how relieved he was at that thought, that Dustin hadn't been alone, and they were here and-

"_Well, you know," _Dustin whispered back innocently, same ole' Dustin; just more tired. _"If our friends are in there, they'll know it's us."_

Shane's smile stretched painfully wide, he hadn't known how relieved he could be and see- he knew his friend. Let Shane's Dustin-knowledge never be doubted, he totally had that called.

"_And if it's __**bad guys**__?"_ Hunter asked, sounding torn between frustrated and amused, like he _wanted_ to see the levity of the situation but really couldn't. Which…not surprising, because it was Hunter, and Hunter was on his A-game a hundred percent of the time. In fact, just the idea that he had considered being amused was probably a huge step forward for him.

Because when it came to the Bradley's, Shane had come to learn, you had to use a different set of standards. The same could be said for all of them, the whole damn world was relative, but it was more extreme for the two thunder rangers. And Hunter especially.

Back outside Shane's head the whispered conversation at the cave's entrance continued, Dustin offering Hunter an answer after a moment's deliberation.

"…_run away, I guess,"_ Dustin replied, and that was it, the dam busted, and both Shane and Tori burst out laughing, smiling at each other in a victory they hadn't really won, because what if it _wasn't_ them, what if it was a trap, what if they were trying to lure them out, what if-?

"Shane!" Dustin's voice cheered, and a moment later the earth ninja (the real deal, in the flesh) landed in front of his fellow wind rangers, hesitating for only a second before throwing himself at them, arms going about both their shoulders in an awkward group hug.

"And Tori!" Dustin _and_ Tori said at the same time, the aqua ranger's put-off tone comical in comparison to Dustin's pure exuberance. Dustin chose to ignore her annoyance, giving the water ninja a more thorough hug after he untangled his arm from Shane.

So yeah, definitely Dustin. Which also meant…

"Could you _be_ louder?" Hunter griped, landing with a quiet _thump_ seconds after Dustin, but the yellow ranger was too busy celebrating their reunion to pay the blond's brooding any heed. At the moment the curly-haired teen was mostly tangled in Tori's lap, leaning against her with a contentness even Shane could see through the gloom. Cuddling her like a puppy, classic Dustin, always made you feel loved.

Tori laughed at the yellow ranger's enthusiasm but it was mostly relief, Shane noticed. She made no attempt to push the curly-haired teen off, instead choosing to wrap her arms around him, resting her chin on top of his head delicately.

They had a special bond, those two (though it could be said that Dustin had a special bond with all of them, as he was the only one who could remain in everyone's good graces about a hundred percent of the time). But Tori was extra-special, in Dustin's world. She had been the first one to befriend him back at the academy. Hard as it was to believe, there was a time when Dustin was a shy and awkward, avoiding social moments like it would be the death of him.

Tori had been the one to take him under her wing and over the many months they had come to know each other, they had pretty much become family. Big sister and little brother to the bitter end.

Shane let them have their moment, because they needed it, Dustin especially if his and Hunter's day had been anything like Shane's and Tori's, and did a quick look over Hunter to check his condition.

The first thing Shane noticed was that he was sweaty, probably because they had kept running way longer than Shane and Tori had, if Hunter's slight gasping was anything to tell. He hid it well, like he hid everything well, and settled in on Shane's free side, choosing not to make any further comments.

His face, if Shane could see it, would probably be disapproving. Hunter didn't understand Dustin, thought he didn't take things seriously enough, but Shane could tell he still regarded the brunette carefully, refusing to doubt his skill. To Hunter, they were all possible snakes in the grass. They couldn't be just what they were presenting, there was always the opportunity that they hid their more serious, battle-ready selves. That if the time called for it, they would abandon their established identities and revert into these…machines, maybe. Crazy psycho robot just waiting for the attack.

At least, that was the way it always felt to Shane. Like he was being constantly scrutinized. Hunter judged their normal behavior, sure, that was obvious, but he always thought they were hiding something. It was almost like the epitome of paranoia which…Shane could get it, kind've. Hunter was just trying to look out for him and Blake. He did whatever he needed to do, conditioned himself to be who he needed to be to make sure they stayed safe. Shane could respect him for that.

That didn't mean Shane liked him any more, because Hunter was still a jerk, but he could respect him.

He didn't like how Hunter…he never cut back a little. He never let his guard down, not even with them, his _team_. Even after the business with Bop-a-roo he respected Shane enough to work with him, but not enough to try and actually be friends. Not enough to let go. It was like he wanted Shane to step up instead, to stop living and become this hard-assed soldier a hundred percent of the time, brushing off all their downtime and constantly focused on Lothor.

And yes, while he and Dustin and Tori were all capable of cutting the shit when the time called for it, for the most part the winds were who they were, and they didn't compromise that for anybody. Not for the public and certainly not for the Bradleys.

Shane wanted to sit down and explain that to Hunter, that he understood why he would doubt them but they weren't going to change, that even thought they were…playful they were just as serious, just as capable as him and Blake and Cam, but Hunter would never give him the time. He refused to level with Shane, to get down to brass tacks because it would be crossing some kind of boundary for him. As though Shane wouldn't be worth it until he acted more seriously on a permanent basis and until then, tough shit.

So far they had managed to work around it. But with this…

Shane was never one to try and prove himself because he knew he had nothing _to_ prove, but maybe Hunter would see him in a new light after their stay here, because Shane certainly didn't feel like bringing on the levity. For him it was straight business.

The thought of _and maybe then Hunter would like him_ was stubbornly ignored, had no real purpose because Shane didn't need Hunter to like him, he just needed him to work with him, and nothing else was important.

He had nothing to prove.

"Have you been running this whole time?" Shane asked quietly, trying not to bother the Tori and Dustin snuggle-fest.

He could feel Hunter shrug in response; he often shrugged because he liked ambiguous answers, but then he took a step forward in their interactions and chose to give Shane a verbal answer, replying, "Pretty much."

Before Shane could press him further Dustin interrupted, tapping his foot against Shane's thigh to get his attention. "Dude, do you think Cam and Blake are here too? Or are they…you know, outside because-"

"We're here," came a voice, calm and steady, from the entrance. This time Shane hadn't got any warning of their arrival _(rub it in why don't you),_ and a second later Cam and Blake landed in front of them, silent except for some muffled panting. It was the most un-composed Shane had ever seen Cam, which shouldn't disturb him as much as it did (Cam _was_ still human), but he couldn't help it. "Perhaps if you would quiet yourselves we will _stay_ the only ones here."

Cam's lecture would have probably been more effective if Dustin hadn't tackled him a second later, sending the two of them flying into an ungraceful heap on the floor. Cam cursed quietly, muttering under his breath in what was probably un-kind Japanese while Dustin continued to cuddle him, showing no mercy on the fronts of proper snuggling.

That relationship was one that Shane hadn't understood initially, until it finally dawned on him that it made perfect sense because of that exact idea. Yeah, super cliché and all that, but it was _true_. So sue him.

They weren't matchable at all, Cam and Dustin. They all acknowledged that. They all made bets on how long it would take before Cam snapped and broke his usual calm and expressionless attitude to yell at Dustin. They had actively kept an eye out to prevent that from happening. Had all tried to play as sort of a muffler between Cam and Dustin (and by "they" Shane just meant him and Tori, because Hunter couldn't be bothered half the time and Blake didn't know them well enough to care). Because they were both just so different. Cam was order and intellect, restraint and thoughtful deliberation while Dustin was pure wild energy, enthusiasm and ridiculously impulsive, possessing absolutely no brain-to-mouth filter.

And yet, it worked. They were friends for all the reasons that they shouldn't be friends, because they liked the balance they found in one another (Tori's phrasing, after Shane had approached her, holding his head and asking, in a distinctly not-pitiful tone, _why_?).

While it had…hurt, a little (because he _was_ only human), when Dustin started becoming super attached to Cam, Shane couldn't really find it in himself to begrudge Dustin for making new friends. At the moment, Cam was undoubtedly Dustin's favorite person on the entire team (though he would always promise dedication to Shane and Tori, it went without saying) and it was slowly becoming obvious that the reverse was also true, as much as Cam protested it.

Dustin was the things Cam wanted to be but couldn't. And Dustin was…_Dustin_, and that was all Cam needed.

It wasn't surprising that Dustin had rallied yet another powerful ally to be permanently on his side, but it was endearing. Made Shane glad to watch their team become a little bit closer, every day.

Except for _some_-

Alright, enough of that crap. It wasn't helping anyone.

"_Cam!" _Dustin cheered, snuggling his head against the tech's shoulder. He remained completely unbothered as the green ranger decided he was done with lying on the ground and shifted them into the sitting position, letting out a small grunt of exertion. In response, Dustin made no effort to move, instead choosing to throw his arm around Cam's shoulders and repositioning himself in Cam's lap, making it so they could both be comfortable.

To his credit, Cam remained impassive throughout the entire affair, only giving the occasional grunt of displeasure that was on principal, at best.

And they all freakin' knew it. Even Hunter, at this point.

"_Blake_," Hunter muttered, and Shane watched out of the corner of his eye as the crimson ranger quietly took account of his brother's condition. As the younger Bradley made his way over to them Shane could see some of the tension leave Hunter's shoulders, that sense of worry he would never admit to, not in front of the rest of them.

Shane shifted closer to Tori to give them space, allow them to silently communicate their status as they had a hundred times before, as they had probably been doing for as long as they could remember.

Neither Bradley made any comment on his movement, not even as Blake settled into Shane's place, but he hadn't been expecting it.

But still, the fact that neither of them had objected to it, that had to be something, right?

"So," Shane began, giving his teammates a cursory look over before he moved on to the next order of business. "How's everyone's condition? We all good? Physically, visually?" He turned to Tori as he always did when looking for confirmation. "How're your eyes Tor?"

In the dim light he could see a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, because this was familiar, this brought comfort. "Like a cat's," she replied.

And, just as he always did, Blake scoffed in reply, elbowing his brother. "That makes no sense. Saying you have eyes of a hawk-"

"Or of an eagle," Hunter interrupted, lacking the playfulness of his brother but continuing nonetheless. That was the system, Hunter liked the system. Even if it was, to quote the blond, _"stupid_".

"_-that_ makes sense," Blake finished, triumphant smile on his face.

Good. That was three out of five.

Shane motioned over to Dustin and Cam, "And you two?"

There was a slight pause as Dustin shrugged. "…a little red."

"Are you pulling more all-nighters?" Hunter prompted, leaning forward slightly in what could be concern, but it shouldn't have been, Dustin gave the right answer-

The yellow ranger nodded in an almost-sheepish manner. "Yeah well, homework's hard. What about you Cam?"

He shouldn't have asked; that was Shane's job and he didn't need either of the Bradley's to be more on edge than they already were, but Dustin…he needed something. He was on edge himself and didn't want to wait.

Quietly, Cam obliged him with a tilt of the head. "It's private," he whispered. "And you Shane?"

The red ranger cracked a smile and shrugged, relief surging through him. "All of the above?" he asked.

Just like that there was a collective sigh, the rangers finally relaxing as much as they could in the current circumstances. Shane knew the conversation sounded bizarre but after the first time Tori had been replaced they had decided to come up with a system for establishing their identities using code-words, superfluous things that Lothor's goons never would have been able to think through. On a random whim Dustin had decided they would all be designated with their own "eye" themed codenames; Hunter as eagle eye, Blake as hawk eye, Tori as cat eye, Dustin as red eye, and Cam being the private eye. There was logic behind these designations Shane was sure, though Dustin had never felt obligated to share them.

As the one who prompted the codes, Shane didn't have a designation of his own. Instead he had his own queries from either Tori or Hunter, should he fail to ask about their "vision" in times they deemed were necessary.

It seemed crazy, but it brought them all a sense of comfort, knowing they would be able to spot an imposter should it ever be necessary.

And, on an unimportant sidenote, there was a chance that this system _may_ have earned Shane brownie points from one of the Bradley's.

But like he said, it wasn't important.

Shane let out a quiet sigh and rolled his head back against the rock wall behind him, small feeling of relief wash over him.

"Okay," he murmured after allowing himself a moment. "Now that _that's_ taken care of how is everyone, really?"

"Tired," Dustin replied first, snuggling himself closer to Cam as though to demonstrate this.

The tech's eyebrows furrowed at this action, more displeased by Dustin's fatigue than the actual closeness, and protectively wrapped an arm around his waist, expression schooled to his default of casual blankness. "We're somehow being cut off from our elemental foundations," Cam began to explain, tone even despite the unpleasantness of his message.

They all knew it, but it was somehow worst now that it was confirmed by Cam. Shane had been hoping the green ranger might have escaped their fate, somehow.

"I thought that couldn't happen to you," Hunter immediately cut in, severe and agitated, and out of the corner of Shane's eye he could see Blake lay a comforting hand against the blond's forearm, trying to reel him back.

Cam, for the most part, continued to look unruffled. "As my samurai powers result from the presence of any energy, it _is_ highly difficult to block my access to them. It isn't, however, impossible."

"But it doesn't make any sense," Tori protested, barest hints of panic in her undertones. "How can there be no energy here?"

As the conversation proceeded Dustin had began to pay a bit more attention to his tech friend, eyes watching him with obvious concern. Whether it was conscious or unconscious, Cam began to move a hand through the brunette's hair in an attempt to calm him, but kept his eyes on the others, remaining steady and strong. "There _is_ energy here; there simply isn't any for me-"

Hunter began to dispute this. "If you can access _all_ energy, how can-"

"I do not know," Cam admitted, effectively causing a silence to fall over them. "I do not know," Cam echoed, no shame at this declaration, no fear, only acceptance. "But in time, I am sure we will find out."

"Do you think transporting us here," Blake began, causing all of them to turn towards him. "Do you think that did something to us?"

"Possibly," Cam replied.

"_Great_," Hunter muttered sarcastically.

Shane didn't bother picking up that fight, it wasn't worth it, and Blake had it covered better than the rest of them anyway, so he chose to focus on what was important.

"We need a plan of attack guys," Shane began, recapturing everyone's attention so he could get them to focus. "This time is different-"

"No shit," Hunter replied, no longer bothering with subtleties, and Shane ignored him.

Normally Hunter wasn't this wound up when they were on a mission (off of missions, sure, everyone was fair game), usually he was stoic, had his eyes on the goal and damn everyone else. Damn their feelings or concerns or weaknesses. They had a goal, they achieved the goal, end of story. No need to complicate things with talking or emotions or any "extraneous" actions.

Hunter had trained himself to be a survivor.

If he was this wound up…

Shane wondered if there was something he wasn't sharing with the rest of them.

But now was not the time to ask about it; prodding Hunter at this point would only result in more sarcasm and agitation, nothing that would be useful to them. Maybe later, if they were still _here_ later, Shane would ask him what was on his mind.

And maybe, considering the circumstances, Hunter would actually _answer_ him.

Now wouldn't that be something?

"-so we need to decide what we're going to do," Shane finished, brushing off Hunter's jibe. "Any suggestions?"

For a few seconds, Shane almost feared that the thoughtful silence that fell over them wasn't a thoughtful one at all, but instead some void of desolation, that they were panicking and losing hope, that there were no words to be had because-

Slowly, Cam managed to extract one of his arms from around Dustin and raised a hand, drawing their attention back to him and forcing Shane to lose his train of thought, surprised to discover that he couldn't, for the life of him, remember what it was.

"I have a few possible options," the tech explained quietly, Dustin's face immediately lighting up with cheer for possible plans (see, he _loved_ plans). Shane listened as the green ranger began to outline his ideas, forcing his mind to focus despite that nagging urge that he should remember, remember…what? He couldn't remember. Something about no hope? Well, that was stupid. They were fine.

They were their strongest when they were together and now they could tackle Lothor's alternate dimension as a team, finding their way out of it as they had so many times before.

There was no reason to worry.

There was no reason to be afraid.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-

* * *

Endnotes:

I had a good chunk of this story written up in November, but something about it didn't feel right. After studying it I realized the tone was wrong, so I went back and Frankenstein-ed the old chapter, making it into the story it is today. It was originally going to be much longer, but with the re-writes I decided to cut it down so I could get it out before my next semester started.

The title comes from the song by Imogen Heap, which helped me set the tone for later parts of this story.

Reviews are always appreciated :)

Until next time


	2. What the hell is going on?

Chapter 2

What the hell is going on?

A considerable amount of thanks is due to my beta reader the real vampire for having the patience to deal with this chapter and correct _many_ repeating errors. You're a peach vamps, and your encouragement and endurance are greatly appreciated. Check out her stuff folks if you haven't already : )

And also: It's very difficult to write an epic team-bonding story when you have the soundtrack to Tangled _embedded_ _into your brain._

Just something to note.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-

* * *

It became obvious fairly quickly that the only goal within their ability to achieve was to just maintain. Cam's theories, as great as they were, were just that; theories. Nothing they could prove. He had some ideas, things that flew straight over Shane's head that they wasted part of a day on, but they were abandoned out of necessity. Whether this was a mind trap or a dream or some great, joint-hallucination their bodies still demanded food to eat and time to rest. Cam begrudgingly agreed to postpone his experiments in favor of focusing on their survival and, eventually, they fell into a new routine of scavenging; trying to do whatever was necessary just to endure.

It was hard, the first week. Shane couldn't think of any other way to say it. There were still no attacks, no other life forms besides themselves, which made it hard to keep up morale. Especially with the food situation. Shane's Power Bar supply had been emptied out the first morning, forcing the team to hunt for sustenance as they explored life outside their first cave home.

That was something they had decided early on, the need to move. Yeah, the cave provided shelter and that was great, but there was just so little around it and they _needed_ food, they needed water, so they couldn't stay. Shane decided they would explore the dense forest on the base of the mountain first. He figured they had a way better shot of finding a meal in that place than they would exploring further up the rocky ledges. Everyone agreed with his logic and, were he paying Hunter any extra attention, Shane would have noticed a patronizing look on his face, like the blond was glad Shane had managed to figure out _that_ particular nugget of wisdom all on his lonesome, but Shane _didn't_ have attention to spare, so he hadn't. Obviously.

They rotated out who wore shoes.

They were lucky enough that Tori was the only one missing footwear at the time of their abduction, so only one person had to rough it at a time, but they all understood the necessity. Without their morphers they couldn't count on ranger healing to get them through the day and the longer Tori ran shoeless the higher the risk for infection, as dictated by a very stern Cam. The easiest way to minimize cuts and subsequent diseases was to reduce the amount of time someone ran around shoeless, so that was how they had come up with their sharing system. They were already fortunate that the weather had stayed mild so no one had gotten sick from their constant exposure; there was no need to push their luck.

No one had argued and fortunately all the guys had bigger feet than Tori. And there _was_ something kind've amusing about watching the aqua ranger try to navigate the world in oversized tennis shoes (Shane and Dustin), motocross boots (Hunter and Blake), or Cam's green Chucks (gifted to him by a rather ecstatic Dustin Brooks) that helped raise their spirits, much to her protests and narrow-eyed warnings, delivered with a silent but half-hearted glare.

It came as a relief whenever they stumbled upon the first batch of abandoned buildings.

It had been (alternate dimension) business as usual; a light jog through the woods (running had been abandoned after the first day, they just didn't have the energy) while they kept their eyes open for any type of wild fruit, mushrooms, or nuts. Cam, who actually had academic connections within the world of botany, was able to point out the less easily identifiable food stuffs like onions, carrots, and other things that hid in the ground. He was the one that told them which mushrooms were fit for human consumption and what they should avoid, what berries did more harm than good, and had made them drill the descriptions of all of these items until they could repeat him verbatim, on the off-chance they got split up.

That wasn't something Shane was ever comfortable thinking about, splitting up. He always pushed his mind past the idea whenever it stuck out in his subconscious, like a stubborn branch for him to trip on, always causing him to collapse and lose time; unaware of what exactly had happened.

He never dwelled long on it though, or why it bothered him. Splitting up in an unknown territory would always lead to uncomfortable feelings. That was reasonable.

Cam had noted a couple days into their "stroll" (Dustin had taken to calling it that, just to get a smile on Tori's face) through the wilderness that the food they were finding didn't make any kind of sense. It was the climates, he elaborated, after giving their confused (or bored, in the case of the Bradleys) looks an agitated frown. The fruits they were finding, even some of the flowers, were all from different places in the real world and were only capable of growing in certain climates. Things like pistachios and pomegranates (neither of which Shane ever had before this "trip") thrived in hot, dry climates while things like pears grew in wet soil. The tech was also insistent that strawberries grew in sandy, drier soil, which was a source of great aggravation to him when they stumbled upon a pear tree and a strawberry patch that happened to be right across from each other.

Shane wasn't entirely sure _why_ it bothered the green ranger; they already knew real-world rules didn't apply to alternate dimension land. Besides, food was food. Shane was just glad they managed to find enough for him to store away in his backpack for later which was, unfortunately, the only bag-like item they had at the time. Dustin, in his perpetual enthusiasm, was very adamant that his hoody's pocket was _also_ very deep and luckily nobody (Hunter) felt inclined to rain on that parade, despite the fact the yellow ranger could only put about two apples in there before they had to start worrying about things falling out.

That day's run had been one of their better ones, Shane thought, because they had stumbled upon a whole fleet of apple trees that morning, keeping them well-fed. The days where they had full stomachs were always better, Shane had learned.

So they had been running, making their way steadily through the shady grey forest of perpetual stillness and majesty when Hunter, who had taken point for that day, motioned for them to stop. Without waiting for an explanation Shane quietly made his way up beside the crimson ranger, Tori following right behind him. They flanked Hunter on the side Blake wasn't occupying and stared into the distance, wondering what he had seen.

It only took him a few seconds to spot the difference; the mossy, ethereal feel of the forest giving way to this dirty, harsh open area. It had no trees, no cover, just a naked ground of dirt. It felt unnatural (like the rest of this world), out of place in the forest, and Shane knew even before he inspected further that it had the distinct air of a manmade place.

Manmade, indicating _men,_ people. There was a chance that they weren't entirely alone.

Cautiously they advanced. Hunter, Tori and Shane in the front; Cam, Dustin and Blake trailing ten feet behind them (they did that sometimes, the Thunder rangers. Operating as though they were still a team of two, with one holding back to keep an eye on the other), watching for any indication that shit was about to hit the fan.

Shane was right, in a way. About the manmade-ness. In the middle of the strangely placed clearing was a cluster of buildings, a lot like the abandoned factories they usually ended up fighting in, just…resting there. They weren't decrepit, not yet; they still looked solid and functional but they had obviously not been in use for a long time. Dirt was caked on the few windows Shane could see, and the paint had flaked and peeled off the smattering of surfaces that had demanded that kind of decoration, making all of the signs long-unreadable.

Shane would have called it a ghost town, but that would have given it way too much credit for creating a comforting ambience. It wasn't a town; it was more like…a base, maybe. Some old military installation, abandoned to the elements.

Or a trap.

Both were possible.

Hunter must have been thinking along the same lines because he only frowned when Shane motioned the rest of their team to their position, unhappy with their circumstances.

Obviously it could be a trap, but then again, this whole damn _thing_ was a trap as far as Shane was concerned, so what was one more to add to the list? Sure, this could have been the plan all along, to just lure them into this false sense of security before Lothor finally got around to attacking, letting them get worn down by a week and a half without powers, but the way Shane saw it that was for the better. Because maybe _then_ they could put an end to all this. Maybe if they sprung a trap they could find a way to escape, or figure out whatever lesson/technique/form-of-teamwork they needed to employ in order to beat Lothor and go home.

No matter what it was, ultimately Shane knew they had to at least _try_ and investigate the buildings. They could contain food or weapons, maybe some more backpacks. Maybe they could find some shoes for Tori, and some clothes that were more substantial than her swim trunks and tankini (even with Shane's sweater helping her fend off the night's chill, he could tell she was feeling uncomfortable).

Or maybe there would be nothing.

But even so…

They huddled ten feet away from the tree line, instinctively circling in towards each other to decide how best to approach their newest trap/potential-building-to-be-ransacked.

"Who has a watch?" Shane asked, deciding it would be best to skip past the part where he made exploration sound like a suggestion. Maybe if he bypassed that little detail the Bradleys (and Cam, most likely) would be thrown off their game long enough to see the opportunities that awaited them.

Though, in retrospect, Shane probably shouldn't have started off with that much of a non-sequitur, as Blake and Dustin chose to give him blank stares while the rest of the team considered him briefly before turning their eyes back to the buildings beyond the red ranger's shoulder.

"Uh…" Dustin began, looking like he was trying to think of the nicest way to answer Shane's question. "You do dude."

"Who _else_?" Shane asked, months of working with the earth ninja helping him glaze over the unhelpful statement of the obvious.

Shane knew the odds were slim; their morphers were big, substantial things that took up a lot of wrist space. It felt weird wearing anything else on your other wrist, goofy even, like you were over-adorned. Or "over accessorized" as Tori would say. To be honest, Shane wasn't exactly sure _why_ he had put on his watch the morning of their abduction. He hadn't worn the thing since they had become rangers. He must have been half-asleep when he'd gotten ready that morning and grabbed it by accident, still following a morning routine he had abandoned not-so-long ago.

And while they had been running together for more than ten days, the exact time hadn't really been important to their situation. Shane knew it was weird to ask, because he would have noticed someone _else_ wearing a watch, but there was always a chance someone had stored it in their back pocket and had forgotten about it, or decided it was unimportant.

That someone turned out to be Cam.

"I do," the tech said quietly, digging said timepiece out of a pocket halfway down the leg of his cargo pants.

(These would have also been used to store food were it not for the impressive amount of tools/first aid kits/ bandanas and other assortments of emergency items Cam had stashed away for instances such as this. Shane would say he was overly paranoid if his preparations hadn't proved to be so desperately needed.)

"Great," Shane replied with a small grin. Should have figured it would be Cam. "What time do you have?"

"2:04"

"Alright let's both set our watches at 2:05 right…_now_."

Without asking for clarification, Cam followed Shane's lead, synchronizing their watches a minute ahead. Were Shane watching Tori he would see her firmly commit this action to her memory, because accuracy meant a lot to her. Even if their watches only displayed California time which, as they had learned, was not exactly the same as alternate-dimension time because the days here were longer, the aqua ranger still demanded Cam keep track of the time they were missing in that tiny spiral notebook he had stashed away.

Cam had not denied her, had probably intended to do it anyway regardless of Tori's prompting, but it brought them together in a way. Bonding over the cooperation.

Shane had thought the Bradleys had appreciated this too, but if Hunter had given a damn his only tell had been through a quiet, drawn out exhale. Blake on the other hand had the expressiveness to give the proceedings a subdued _smile_, though whether that was for the action's benefits or because of Tori, Shane would never know.

He liked to think it was a little of both. Bridge the gaps some.

"You're splitting us up," Hunter said, breaking Shane out of his reverie as the blond made this unquestioning statement, eyes studying the air ninja in distaste for a brief second before returning to the distance. Shane was pretty sure, just, based on the lack of reactions from Cam and Tori, that the nothing they had initially seen in their abandoned base town continued to happen, making Hunter's actions unnecessary.

Whatever, at least the blond would be prepared.

"Two teams," Shane confirmed with a small nod, motioning between himself and Cam's preferred watch with his free hand. "Team One goes in first and explores the building closest to the edge of the woods. Team Two will wait here for two minutes and if everything seems fine, will move out and explore the adjacent building. We'll meet back up here at 2:15 and decide where to go from there."

Shane had all of the team's attention now, even Hunter's, as he laid out his plan. "Keep your eyes open for things that could help us. Bags, food-"

"Shoes," Tori murmured quietly with a wry grin.

"Shoes," Shane echoed. "Weapons, stuff like that."

"Do you really think there'll be anything in there?" Dustin asked, eyebrows furrowing in an expression that was part worried and part curious, his fingers drumming a restless patter against the rough material of his jeans.

The red ranger shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

"Who's on what team?" Blake asked, face neutral. He was interested, maybe, or at least intrigued with Shane's proposition, and it came as a mild relief that he and his brother didn't outright condemn the idea. So there was something.

But as for the teams…

In this instance, Hunter and Blake probably wouldn't want to be separated. It was most likely for the best if Shane kept them both on the second team, as two of the most experienced people they would be able to-

_Oh_.

Shane had forgotten…it had been so long he had managed to let the absence of their elements escape him for a moment. He was thinking in real-world terms. Here, if Team One was attacked, it wouldn't matter how powerful Team Two was. They were all on the same playing field now.

Still, Hunter and Blake would probably be the calmest under pressure, which made them ideal cavalry should they be needed. Shane would put Dustin with them to round off Team Two (because there was no way Shane was letting Hunter go in there first, he had this one). Either Cam or Shane would have to fork their watch over to Hunter with this configuration, but Shane knew it was the best fit. On his own merit, Dustin wasn't the most experienced or even the best at hand-to-hand combat. Putting him with the Bradleys would ensure a level of security, give Shane peace of mind, and besides, Dustin was one of the few people the Bradleys (as in _both _Bradleys ) would tolerate for extended periods. If this exploration somehow led to the team being split up, they would still be able to function in a semi-harmonious fashion. Good spirits all around.

It was decided then.

"Hunter, Blake and Dustin will be Team Two," Shane began. Without prompting Cam was already placing his watch in Hunter's possession. "And Tori, Cam and I will be Team One, investigating the first building."

"Of course," Hunter mumbled offhandedly, eyes narrowed downwards as his fingers secured the watchband around his wrist.

"Yep," Shane replied, glazing over the blond's comment (he could ignore it but that always felt like he was giving Hunter some kind of victory).

There was some scuffling from Dustin's side of the circle, the yellow ranger plopping down onto the earth as he began wrestling with his shoelaces. "Tor, you should-" he started, cutting himself off as his tongue poked out of the side of his mouth, highly concentrated on his task. "Take my shoes. Out here, even if we're like, element-less, I've still got the hardest feet."

"I'll be fine Dustin," the water ninja shot back quietly, consciously not paying any attention to her now-bare feet; it having come to her turn as the shoeless runner. "I walk the beach all the time without shoes."

"He's got a point this time Tori," Shane said, fixing her with an understanding look before turning his eyes back to the warehouse city in front of them. In his peripherals, he could see Dustin ignoring Tori's protest and successfully liberate his first shoe. "We need all the advantages we can get."

The "we" in this case meaning Team One, but Tori seemed to understand and begrudgingly relieved Dustin of his offering, double knotting the laces for extra security.

"Time?" Shane asked, now completely turned to face the clearing. Cam wordlessly fell in beside him on his right, with Tori lagging slightly behind him on his left, hovering by his shoulder.

"2:06," Hunter answered quietly, slight rustle in the underbrush the only indication the blond was pulling the other two rangers back. To a better hiding spot, probably.

Shane glanced down at his watch quickly: 2:06, on the dot.

"Sync," he muttered, probably to himself, but it felt like the right thing to say. Infuse a little superspy lingo to lighten everyone's spirits.

Cheesy, but hey, Tori was fighting off a smile, so Shane considered it a win.

He was surprised when he heard a quiet "Sync" echo behind him, but when the air ninja glanced over his shoulder Hunter's face was schooled to his usual impassiveness.

And if the blond just happened to have a hand resting on Dustin's shoulder in an attempt to provide some comfort and support, then Shane would choose to see it as a sign of growth and camaraderie, as opposed to justifying his decision of Dustin's placement.

Even if it did.

Yeah, he made the right call. He knew stuff.

The worst part, like with most things, was the first few steps into the harshly bright industrial area. They had been coddled by the shelter of trees for too long, having become accustomed to their shadows and cover, and this new place was so drastically different they couldn't help but feel on edge again; that same anxiousness from the first day returning with a vengeance. They quickly made their way to the first structure, looming high above of them, and the feeling of vulnerability dissipated slightly once they got their backs to the hulking edifice, though Shane would feel much better when they managed to get inside.

Cam made short work of the door, although that turned out to be less from his lock-picking prowess and more because the only defense they could find was a padlock that looked like it had been blown apart, the smoldering remains now black and faded against the dull earth, resting in hapless pieces. Like it had tried- really, it had. It had given a valiant effort but in the end it was forced to surrender to superior fire power.

God, Shane hoped that whatever it was that had done that was long gone by now. Or better yet, nonexistent.

He had to remember that, _damnit_. This was just a game to Lothor. They weren't actually in some distant galaxy with history and rules and like, a story; it was just another dimension. Temporary, designed to trick them.

Maybe this was the trick.

Tori pushed her way in first, despite Shane's protests.

He knew, or at least, _they_ knew, that Cam couldn't be the first to go in because they couldn't risk losing their most strategic and survival knowledge-ed mind on the first _goddamn_ building. Shane had intended to go himself, because he was the leader right? But Tori must have decided that his fate was like Cam's; too valuable to be risked on building investigations.

The idea of that just…felt odd. Wrong even.

Shane couldn't figure out why though. He _was_ the leader, that made sense, but his value…

The air ninja lost that train of thought the moment Tori declared the entrance safe; the feeling of detachment leaving with a sudden jolt and then…nothing. He blinked and shook his head, realizing that he was wasting precious time they didn't have and moved on, trailing on Cam's heels until they reached the inside of their building.

The best way to describe the place would be to say it was like a warehouse of sorts, or some kind of militaristic holding center for an army that had either forgotten or abandoned it. Of those two options, Shane seriously hoped for the former.

Rows upon rows of wooden crates, large things, lined the entire length of the wall directly to their right. They were stacked two high, the tops of the upper row coming to a stop just about chest height for Shane, giving whoever had once been the boxes owners room to ratchet the lids back and retrieve their contents. The ones closest to the door looked like they had done just that; a few crates torn from their position and spilling onto the ground, now empty, the tops ripped off in ancient haste.

As Tori started looking into those, Shane turned his eyes to the left side of the large room, occupied by lines of metal shelves, library style, jutting up over his head. He would bet anything they hadn't contained books. Didn't contain much of anything by the looks of it. Most of the shelves were empty, though the ones closest to the door had suffered the same fate as their crate counterparts, more likely for a different reason, as they, like the padlock, showed the distinct damage of some kind of heat; the metal warped until it crumbled, the shelves collapsing in on themselves.

Shaking off the possibilities of _what_ could have done that, Shane glanced down at his watch, checking the time.

2:09; only six minutes left.

He needed to get moving.

Shane turned his attention to the further shelves. The racks nearest to the inside of the building still contained some supplies. It looked like hard, plastic boxes; originally black but now dulled down to a faded grey, discolored by dust and dirt, but even from his distance they looked solid. They had protected whatever it was they had been designed to hold.

"_Jackpot!_"

The whispered exclamation came from Tori, her enthusiasm still clearly communicated despite her hushed tones. As Shane glanced over his shoulder he could see the aqua ranger holding up a pair of combat boots, maybe close to her size if a little bigger, and the blond sent him a cheeky wink before continuing her exploration, delving deeper into the depths of her chosen crate.

"_Maybe you should try to find some for Blake and Hunter,_" Shane suggested quietly, resuming his walk towards his intended targets; they were running low on time.

"_Right_," Tori whispered back, voice somewhat muffled as she continued her search. "_Motocross boots are not so great for running. I know that first hand."_

"_Backpacks too,"_ he added, even if it wasn't necessary; Tori already knew all the things they were looking for but still, it helped his peace of mind.

Repetition had a way of doing that for you.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shane could see that Cam had discovered a metal ladder against the far wall, leading up to what appeared to be a catwalk that lined the entirety of the upper perimeter of the room. From what Shane could see it wasn't very useful; the walkway directly above Tori's crates only provided a view through an endless row of faded windows (maybe it was a look out spot or something) and the rest were above the metal shelves so Shane couldn't get a clear line of sight on them, though if he squinted his eyes he supposed there _could_ be the slightest chance of…Blinking? Was there some operational equipment up there?

2:11; only four minutes left.

He would leave that business in the very capable hands of the team tech. In the meantime, Shane had finally reached the first set of filled shelves and grabbed the box closest to him apprehensively, taking comfort in the sounds of scraping behind him as Tori continued to rustle through her crates.

The closest thing Shane could think of that compared to these plastic boxes were instrument cases, maybe. Like the ones the band kids carried to school all the time; the ones that looked like big ole' suitcases but not, because who would honestly have a plastic suitcase? Distantly, Shane acknowledge that the extra width and plastic nature of these cases had to be for protection, like an added cushion to keep the instruments safe when they were jostled or dropped or something like that.

Though Shane was highly doubtful the warehouse containing crates of combat boots just happened to store instruments in it as well.

Sure, his life was weird, but it wasn't _that_ weird.

Which meant the second option that had popped into Shane's head was the more logical choice.

See, the second thing he had thought they looked like were gun cases. Like the ones you saw in movies. He had put that as the second option simply out of habit; he was more familiar with instrument cases, therefore it made more sense for those to be the first thing that came to mind but...

He wondered if it would be a bullet-gun, or something else. Like a laser or a flamethrower…or grenades, maybe.

Hesitantly, Shane reached for the latch of the first case. There was no lock, no combination, just flick up the right side, flick the left side and…

He flipped the top back, half expecting some kind of explosion or trap to spring and already prepared to throw himself to the ground when his eyes processed the sight before him, confirming that he had, in fact, been correct with his second assumption.

It was a gun.

He thought.

At least, it _looked_ like a gun. Some crazy, Star Trek cast-off space blaster gun, but a gun nonetheless.

The outside of the case may have looked weathered and old but the inside was in pristine condition, looking untouched by time. The weapon…a laser rifle, Shane decided to call it for the sake of simplicity, was nestled in a black foam bedding, the shape of it cut out perfectly so that it could be nestled in good and tight. Aside from the rifle, the only other things in the case were two rectangular cartridges that…glowed. Green. It was faint, but there was _definitely_ a distinct activity of glowing going down there.

So…laser rifle. This was his life now.

Well, he had gotten this far, he might as well go all the way.

Casting whatever remained of his hesitancy aside, Shane reached forward and gripped his fingers around the middle portion of the laser rifle just above the handle, giving it a couple of tugs before he managed to get it out of the foam's clutches. On closer inspection it still looked as goofy as it had in the case, though it was much lighter than he expected it to be. Maybe the same weight as plastic, which was odd, considering…well, it was in what he assumed was weapon storage.

Maybe this thing was what had caused all those burn marks.

It would be nice to have some in their hands then, if that was the case.

Under the handler/trigger area was what Shane guessed was a slot for ammo, or maybe it wasn't, but it looked like something was missing. Not that he was an authority on this kind of thing; he knew nothing of guns, least of all _space_ guns, but…

Maybe the cartridges would help.

Without putting much thought into it (because if he did he might hesitate and he didn't have time for that; it was laser rifle or bust and business like that had no room for thought processes) Shane snatched up one of the dimly glowing cartridges and figured out a way to jam it into the vacant spot on the rifle, which must have been the right thing to do because the thing immediately gave off this low humming noise, reminiscent of a computer being booted but like, _deadlier_, and the faint pulsing green traversed both sides of the rifle's barrel; thin ornamental lines adorning the center area that must have been used to indicate it was on. Or maybe the designers just thought it looked cool. Shane was willing to believe both, but that irrelevant note was a result of a rather frantic thought process that was having trouble grasping the fact Shane could be holding a potential death machine. A machine he had no idea how to use.

And there were more of them.

They might not have needed anything like them yet but there was no guarantee the team's luck would hold up. Eventually, they might have to fight something and this might be their only shot at equipping themselves.

Carefully, Shane laid his now-armed rifle across one of the empty shelves, making sure it wasn't aimed anywhere important, and grabbed the other green cartridge out of the case, pulling his backpack off so that he could chuck the thing inside. Once that was done Shane moved on to the other plastic crates, the first couple carrying the same rifle as the initial one, though it varied after that. He found one case that was just completely cartridges, all of them glowing (in the second box he'd looked through one of the ammo cartridge-things appeared to be a dud; no mystic glowing for that gun) and he dumped all of those into his backpack too, around the base of the two rifles jutting halfway out. In one of the crates Shane found rows of metallic/cyber canisters roped together on some kind of fabric sash, maybe to be worn as a belt or something. He couldn't tell if they were missiles or giant bullets or what, but he'd just let Cam figure that out later. Until then, it wouldn't hurt to pack a few of them away. And there were pistols too, perhaps? He would just call them that, for simplicity's sake, and he got three of those in before he checked his watch again, the time reading 2:14; one minute before they had to head out. He should probably check on Cam.

"Hey, Shane?"

Tori's call caught Shane's attention before the red ranger had a chance to check on the wayward tech, at normal volume, which worried him. Tori wouldn't forget herself like that (yes, he knew the whisper-mandate had been a bit overly-cautious, but it made them feel better and that was what counted). The anxiety grew when he caught sight of the water ninja. She had abandoned her previous action (it looked like she was doing up a belt to secure a pilfered set of pants, large enough to wear over her swim trunks) to stare out the warehouse's upper windows, arms slack as her side as her eyebrows knitted in an expression of worry.

No, not worry. Concentration. It was like she was straining to listen to something.

"I dunno if it's just me," she began, her fingers rediscovering life as they quickly finished work on her belt, securing it before her hands went to a stuffed duffle bag back beside her, course, black material covered in a thin layer of grime. "But I think I hear this-"

And that was all Shane got before the world outside their building exploded, the ground shaking from the concussive force, leaving both of the Wind rangers scrambling to keep on their feet.

Good news, the attack hadn't penetrated the building. Bad news-

Another explosion came from the warehouse's non-windowed side, earning an irritated string of what were probably Japanese expletives from Cam as the tech demonstrated how _he_ felt about the situation. In the meantime Shane struggled to keep his head straight with this explosive end to their short time on the lam.

Not good. Not good, not good, notgood_notgood_- Shane had forgotten, hadn't thought what to do if they were attacked when _both_ teams were exploring, what should-?

Shane was vaguely aware of shouting "Cam, get back down!" and then grabbing for his laser rifle, his other hand zipping up his weapon-filled backpack and slipping it onto his shoulders by the time he turned back towards Tori, only to find the other ranger already at his side, new combat boots edging waved patterns into the dirt that coated the warehouse's floor each time an explosion struck.

"_Cam!_" the red ranger shouted again, glaring at the catwalks he couldn't see as he blindly reached for another case, jerking it open and putting the weapon together, a rifle this time, as quickly as he could despite his shaky fingers and shoving it, and the extra cartridge, into Tori's arms.

"Laser rifle," he said by way of explanation over the blaring sounds of rubble and destruction. "_Cam!"_

They needed to get out _now_.

His yells were met with more unintelligible expletives and a few grunts, though eventually the green ranger managed to yell back, "I've almost got something here, I just need-"

"Cam!" This time Tori made her plea, eyes darting up to the catwalk before looking back to the doors and windows, trying to catch sight of whatever was attacking them.

"A few more seconds!" Cam yelled, through gritted teeth by the sound of it, using some kind of exertion to get his machine to do whatever it was he needed it to do. As much as it _could_ help (Shane trusted Cam not to risk their lives on anything frivolous) they still needed to get to the others…

Two things happened in the moment that followed.

Number one, as if Shane's thoughts were being psychically broadcasted, Blake, Dustin and Hunter burst into their warehouse through a door over by Cam's ladder Shane originally hadn't seen, immediately making their way towards the other ground floor rangers. Shane could see that Hunter had managed to find a rifle of his own, and even fired off a sporadic burst of lasers (totally _called_ it) off into the sky, supposedly at whatever was attacking them, before slamming the door behind them, face set in a grim frown.

Event number two, which kept Shane from focusing too much on event number one, was an act unrelated to the rangers, unpredictable enough that Shane couldn't help but become enraptured by its very occurrence.

On one hand, giant turrets unfolding from hidden compartments in the ceilings was kind of awesome.

On the other hand, _giant turrets were unfolding from the ceiling_.

The red ranger was no newcomer to near-death experiences. It was just…it was part of the job. They had to deal with that. They could die. As horrible as it was, and as powerfully frightening as it was to haunt his dreams at night, they all knew it was a possibility. Hunter and Blake better than all of them. And they used that fear, that knowledge, to force themselves to train harder, to exercise more care and deliberation before making choices, but it _still_-

In those few seconds before you almost died, instead of the movie trope of your life flashing before your eyes, time always seemed to come to this grinding halt for Shane instead, gifting the air ninja with extended moments of reflection for him to properly witness his almost, could-quite-possibly-be-the-actual-thing death. He was sure it was adrenaline, or there was some psychological term for it that he didn't know that explained it all but he didn't care about the technicalities, he just knew it happened.

The turrets were large things and, despite the prolonged time Shane's perception had given him he could tell they were descending slowly, like age had worn them down. In some cases it literally had, as only the base joints and supports had managed to survive until present day; the place where the turret should be vacant except for some frayed wires giving off the occasional spark. There were maybe two of them like that, but the rest of the turrets, a giant row of them running along the window wall, seemed to be fully operational, if a little out of use, simply needing a few moments to warm up before they could _really_ get to business.

"_CAM!"_ Shane was shouting, apparently his mouth had decided to do that while his eyes were still focused on the source of their untimely demises, and he vaguely registered that Tori was gripping at his shoulder, also frozen in horror, while Hunter had a hand on Dustin and was already moving to drag the yellow ranger bodily from the building. See, Shane knew he had left Dustin in safe hands, Hunter might be a jerk, but he took his responsibilities seriously-

Real time crashed back down in ruthless pandemonium, Tori's fingers digging painfully into his bicep as they watched the turrets, in the same menacing slowness as they had descended, merrily continue their journey, rotating until they faced the windows which were, Shane noted, also in movement, sliding down to reveal a wide open strip of bright blue sky.

He hadn't noticed it before (which was understandable because they had-been/were-in-the-process-of being _bombed_) but none of the windows had been broken. Nope, no breaking in abandoned-warehouse town, these windows were unimpressed with things like fires and combustions and _basic physics._ So they were explosion-proof, awesome; Shane supposed that was why the building had been so safe-

The red ranger's thoughts were cut off when the turrets finally sprung into action, waves of sound reverberating off the walls with a deafening force.

When his ears managed to stop ringing the air ninja realized Dustin was shouting something over the thunderous noise and he turned his eyes in the other teen's direction, trying to figure out what he was saying.

" – the robots!" Dustin was yelling. "There's some plane-thing flying around and robots are shooting back at it! They came out of some of the other buildings-!"

"We need to get out of here while they've got it distracted!" Hunter shouted, eyes focused on the turrets, clearly unwilling to trust them just yet. While the constant stream of explosions had stopped, leaving only the sporadic bomb hit, they didn't know how long the turrets were going to keep it up and honestly, Shane didn't want to stick around to find out. Retreating to the forest seemed like a good idea to him.

"There are weapons in the boxes!" Shane yelled, motioning to Blake; hoping the thunder ranger would understand and see to getting him and Dustin armed. "Cam!" Shane continued, whipping around to face the upper catwalk. "It's now or never!"

He didn't get an reply back but a moment later the tech finally reappeared in his line of vision, running towards the top of the ladder. Out of the corner of his eye Shane could see Hunter get another weapon ready, the blond having the foresight to prepare one for Cam as Blake and Dustin finished putting their firearms together.

"To the front door!" Shane bellowed, gesturing to the entrance they had initially used the moment Cam rejoined the group.

Shane motioned the team past him; Tori instinctively taking point with Blake and Dustin hot on her heels, Hunter following after he paused long enough to make sure Cam had his weapon before moving on, eyes focused on his brother's back.

Cam and Shane were out of the building last, running side by side, exiting the moderate safety of the shadowed warehouse and bursting into a world of glaring light, the sun beating down on them, forcing their eyes to readjust, losing a few precious seconds as another explosion went off about ten feet to their right. If Cam hadn't been there Shane would have ate it for sure and the same was probably true for the tech, but they somehow managed to keep each other upright, scrambling to dash forward at break neck speed.

Shane kept his eyes moving, first on the line of team mates in front of him and then on their surroundings, trying to ignore the flaming spaceship (or a hovership, maybe? He didn't know; now wasn't the time for naming shit- that had to be the thing Dustin had mentioned) wavering precariously in the sky, as though it were uncertain it could stay aloft. Probably had something to do with the persistent volley of _missiles_ that were being fired at it from somewhere, but Shane _didn't care-didn'tcare-didn'tcare_- only wanted his team to get out, leave this crap behind them.

There was…he didn't know how to describe it, a whirring _thunking_ noise, mechanical clearly, but better maintained than the turrets that had been in the warehouse. When Shane risked a glance over in that direction (because for some odd reason his brain was under the delusion that maybe if he didn't _look_ it wouldn't be there) he saw what he assumed was one of the robots Dustin had been talking about. It was mech-like, almost straight out of a video game. Just two giant metal legs, bending backwards like a flamingo, ending in these massive claw things to stabilize them, with a metal torso-box mounted on top. Except _attached_ to the box just _happened_ to be a huge assortment of guns and missiles and lasers that looked like they were ready to do serious damage.

Never was Shane so glad to have a giant killer robot on _his _side. Seriously, he didn't care why Lothor programmed robot-friends into this stupid alternate dimension. If the rogue ninja was attempting to raise their hopes by _not_ killing them at the moment where killing was optimum then so be it, Shane did _not_ care.

For at least a moment, anyway.

There may have been some caring a few seconds later when Shane finally caught first sight of their attackers who were distinctly _not_ kelzaks or, for that matter, shinobi-related in any way.

They were aliens tried and true; the real, horrifying exemplars you thought up anytime someone mentioned bloodthirsty invaders. Brutal, that was what they looked like. Uncivilized and raw, as though they had fought for every second of their existence and bore the strength that such circumstances demanded with a prideful arrogance.

Annnnd…_wow_, that was pretty damn poetic for a brief glance but Shane had to admit, it was freakin' accurate.

The aliens, those _things_ lumbered at a slow pace but were tearing the robots apart systematically, focusing all of their fire on one mech until it was unusable, then moving onto the others. When the mechs took out one of the ground force aliens another few would take its place, already dropping from the hover ships, and while they were far away…

The team ran into the forest and didn't look back, Shane keeping his eyes peeled for anymore of those creatures. Reminding himself what they looked like because otherwise he had to process the fact there were aliens and robots duking it out behind him, and as well-adjusted as he thought he was, he couldn't waste time trying to rationalize their existence.

Or, okay, he could. It was an alternate dimension and Lothor was fucking with them. There, that made perfect sense.

But back to the aliens.

They were humanoid in build, in that they walked on two legs attached to a torso with two arms and a head, but after that everything was different. They were taller, that was for sure, and (like the mechs) their legs bent the other way, feet protruding, bootless, like some giant claws. Not birdlike though, but sort of like a dog's, a wild beast's. They were slightly hunched over, whether from the weight of their weapons or just their natural posture Shane wasn't sure. And there was this sort of… reptilian feel about them, but with jaws like gorillas, like some kind of odd cross that ended up with scales as well as bone structure and other things Shane couldn't hope to describe in the very brief glance he had gotten of them.

The worst part, if Shane paused to think about it (and he really didn't want to, but stupidly found himself doing anyway) was their eyes. Even if Shane had only seen them for a few seconds he would never forget them. Clichéd and stupid as hell but true nevertheless. There were no irises or whites to add some humanity or substance to them, just something straight from a nightmare, completely dark red, one color and soulless, ready to for battle.

Then again, Shane was kind've biased because they were still _shooting_ at him. For all he knew they could be perfectly pleasant chaps once you sat down and got to know the killer-alien underneath the psychopathic blood-thirsty exterior.

But since he didn't have a death wish Shane figured no one would hold it against him if he elected not to explore that possibility.

Even as the team put more distance between them and the now-active warzone, there was still the occasional rifle/cannon/alien-weapon blast in their direction, meaning that at least one or two of the aliens must have followed them even after they had reached the supposed safety of the forest. Shane would have tried to fire a few shots back but it looked like the aliens were mostly just guessing at where they were, based on how badly they were missing. If he tried to go on the offensive it would only give them a better idea of where to locate the team and, to add insult to injury, he would most likely miss.

And then knowing his luck he would probably trip on a root or something and drag Cam down with him, and they would both get to test out his secret-softy theory when the aliens came to say "hello".

With their _guns_.

They were in a different part of the forest, Shane noted once he managed to get his mind off that unpleasant train of thought. Not that where they had been before was particularly unique in itself, just trees, trees, and more trees, but Shane could tell they were exploring an alternate part of the woods. For one thing the tree trunks had more color to them, more brown instead of the grey.

And here was another feature worth mentioning; Tori had managed to discover some kind of hidden tunnel tucked away at the base of a giant rock mound.

…yes, this was really happening.

There was a rock mound, a giant heap of rocks in the middle of a small forest clearing (_that_ wasn't suspicious _at all)_, though Shane didn't have much time to dwell on that fact because conspicuous rock mound or no, a hideout was a hideout _damnit_.

Unlike the cave they had discovered on the first night which had been a natural sanctuary, this safe hold was obviously manmade, unnoticeable were it not for the fact that the entrance - a metal door that's outside was camouflaged by moss and imitation rock recreated to fit in smoothly with the rest of the world - was stuck halfway open, failing to cover up a metal lined hallway underneath it.

They didn't even think about it; Tori only glanced back for a second to see Shane give her a nod to okay it before she jumped into the hiding place, mindful that the aliens' blasts were drawing closer. It was their best shot really. They weren't going to be able to run forever and if they were going by numbers alone the aliens had enough backup to murder them several times over. Hidden hideout that guaranteed sanctuary was way better than plan_ 'Maybe-We'll-Outrun-Them'_.

The rest of the team followed wordlessly, Dustin ducking in without question, probably still too overcome with adrenaline to even realize what was going on, and Blake and Cam following right after. Shane didn't care that Hunter paused when it was just the two of them; he simply followed after the others, letting Hunter go in last.

Shane understood what the other teen needed; Hunter just wanted to make sure they all got in safe. And Shane figured since Hunter had let him run at the end of the line when this mess started, allowing him to keep an eye on the others, the least he could do was let the blond have this one.

It wasn't like they had time for arguments anyway.

The hallway was your standard kind of thing, about five feet wide and eight feet tall. That was about all the detail Shane bothered taking in as his mind immediately focused on the problem of getting the damn door to shut. It was still above them, too high to just reach up and yank it closed, even _if_ one of them was strong enough to do that, and let's face it, after that chaotic run none of them were in any shape to-

A hand grasped at his shoulder, grip painfully tight, and a second later there was pressure on Shane's thigh too, the source of which, he discovered when he turned to get a look at what was going on, was Tori's foot. The aqua ranger was through with deliberating and moved straight into action, half-climbing Shane until she had enough height to grab at the door. Dustin rushed to brace her other foot, supporting her so she could have more leverage, and beside them Shane could see Blake and the others mimic this semi-pyramid scheme; the two blue rangers working together to finish concealing their hideaway.

It took far longer than any of them wanted it to, seconds dragging on achingly slow as the blue rangers wrestled with the door; sounds of rocks and trees suffering under the hands of their unknown alien attackers drawing closer and closer as they tried to get the stubborn thing to cooperate. Age and weather were working against them as plants and leaves had dug into the door's crevices, allowing little room for movement, while rust made it unwilling to support their plight. For an awful second, Shane thought he made a mistake by not forcing them to run deeper into the darkness of the hallway, to say to hell with the stupid door, maybe there would be another one, someplace safe further down if they just ran for it.

But it was better, he knew, when Tori and Blake gave one final heave, the aqua ranger's shoes pressing insistently into Shane's thigh as the door finally decided to move, just as the rock above the opening was struck by a rifle blast. The moment it closed they were immediately cast into complete and utter darkness, which probably would have been worth more attention but both of the blue rangers had managed to lose their balance, toppling over as they followed along with the motion of the door. It ended with them collapsed on top of their teammates, sending the entire team tumbling to the ground in what would probably be an undignified heap if anyone could see them.

Then again, save for the glowing of their laser weapons it _was_ pitch black, so they were probably fine.

Also, _screw_ dignity; they were gonna live.

_Take that Lothor_.

"Should we…?" Dustin asked for a second, trailing off as he gasped for breath, his body finally remembering the marathon it had just been put through. "Like, should we…move or…?"

"Move," Shane confirmed, to the combined groans of Blake and Tori. "Move now…rest later."

"Yeah," Hunter murmured, voice somewhere off to Shane's left. "The more distance between us and…those things…the better."

"Hear, hear," Blake mumbled, entirely unenthusiastic. He agreed, Shane could tell, he just couldn't bother mustering the energy to show it.

"Light," Cam muttered as they shakily got to their feet with an assortment of groans, using each other as climbing aids until they were properly upright again. "Did anyone grab some kind of lantern or flashlight?"

"I think I might have something," Blake replied, quietly humming a tune as he started to dig though his bag, trying to distract from the still present sounds of alien artillery; distant, but very, very audible.

"And if that doesn't work, we can just use these gun-things right?" Dustin asked, holding up his weapon, a pistol, allowing the dim glow that outlined the firearm to illuminate his face.

"What _are_ these things?" Tori looked down at her rifle, holding it uncomfortably, the idea of it foreign to her. They were ninjas, not soldiers. At least, not _those _kind of soldiers. "And what are those things that attacked us? And the robots-?"

"Distance first," Hunter interrupted quietly, a gentle reminder had his voice not been firm, refusing to yield. "We'll worry about the rest of this stuff later."

"Found it," Blake muttered, cutting off potential arguments by holding up what appeared to be two clear boxes with handles, odd looking, but compared to everything else they had witnessed in the past _ten_ minutes, a few futuristic lanterns weren't going to cause Shane to lose any sleep.

"I'll take one," Dustin said, eagerly moving forward to relieve the navy ranger of his extra lantern. "Since I got the puny gun."

"Hey," Blake replied, voice warm and joking. "I tried to get you a bigger one-"

"We _were_ sort've pressed for time," Tori added, as though she had been a part of it, their combined mirth taking that situation and making it bearable, downplaying it for the sake of their nerves.

They were good like that.

"_Distance_," Hunter said again, beginning to sound impatient as he moved to the front of the pack beside Dustin, urging him to move forward. "You can chat when we've found a safe spot to hold up."

"Yes sir," Blake replied cheerfully, going so far as to grin brightly at Cam before motioning the tech on, walking behind him to illuminate the rear of their group.

"Keep your weapons up and your eyes peeled for anything suspicious, okay?" Shane said quietly, giving one last order as they moved deeper into the hallway. He took comfort as they called their affirmatives, confirmation they both heard and understood him, and hefted his rifle into shooting position, resting it against his shoulder as his eyes investigated very nook and cranny their lights revealed.

Unlike the factory town they had attempted to investigate, the hallway was exactly what it presented itself to be; just a hallway. As they got further in there was less debris, no lingering leaves or rocks that had been blown in from the wind, but aside from that things didn't change much. It was nice, in a way, that they didn't have to be constantly on edge for fear of attack or change but for that same reason also horrible because they all kept expecting their good fortune to deceive them. For their luck to run out and Tori's secret hallway to become some kind of deathtrap they'd end up having to haul ass to escape from.

A good ten minutes into their stressful walk (so told to Shane by his trusty watch) and their nerves were already worn down to their lowest threshold, all of them exhausted and, despite themselves, scared. It came as a relief when the generic hallway finally came to an end, coming to another sliding door only partially-closed, providing enough of a gap to see a descent sized space beyond it, covering about the same area as double the main room of Ninja Ops.

Dustin, not waiting for any instructions, dug into his hoody's pocket and threw an apple into the room casually; he, Tori, and Hunter all crowding around the door's opening to see if the disturbance caused any sort of reaction, but there was nothing.

There was still nothing ten minutes later (because hey, there could always be more aliens) and Shane decided that this place actually _was_ as uninhabited as it looked.

Hunter didn't give him the chance to investigate first this time once the red ranger made this announcement. Instead the blond gently relieved Dustin of his lantern and made a quick walk around the perimeter of the room and when he got back after a few minutes he declared it "safe enough" and handed the light source back to the yellow ranger, making his way towards the center of the room, where the apple had landed. That was pretty much all the motivation they needed for the rest of them to get moving.

After a little exploration they discovered that the room was, oddly enough, a sort of lounge. At least that was what jumped to mind when Shane took stock of what their lanterns illuminated. There was a couch, an honest to goodness _couch_, and there beside it a loveseat (maybe there would be a coffee table too; really tie the room together) and a couple of piles of blankets and bedrolls, sleeping bags and pillows which _could not_ be more appreciated by any other human beings. As comfortable as they tried to convince themselves the ground was, sleeping on grass and moss had been no picnic. Even if it had taken that heart-attack of an exploration to get them some proper sleeping supplies, Shane had to say it was worth it. Worth. It.

"Candles!"

The outburst came from a rather pleased-sounding Tori, who had, much to Shane's amusement, discovered a cluster of candles on a small table over against one of the walls, short enough to quite _possibly_ be described as a coffee table.

It was the simple things really.

"There's some over here too," Cam noted, and now that they had pointed it out Shane could see similar collections outlined in shadows, sprinkled around the room.

"And now we just need a match," Blake said good-naturedly, attempting to position his lantern on top of the couch so that it was A) stable and B) projected as much light as possible.

"Found some!" Dustin exclaimed but a moment later, excited, and in a few short minutes their mysterious, possibly-possessing-death-traps room was properly lit up, the large candles providing a homey sort of feel despite the metal militaristic vibe of the room, and for the first time since they had been abducted they actually found a place that _almost_ felt like home.

You know, comparatively speaking.

"What is this place?" Dustin asked when the room was sufficiently lit, settling in on the couch as he took it all in: the blankets and candles and other doors they had yet to bother opening.

"This place?" Blake asked, incredulous, sitting down on the floor next to his brother, both of their backs against the front of the loveseat. "What about what just happened to us? The aliens and the robots-"

"First things first," Shane interrupted, taking the spot next to Dustin's feet; Tori and Cam filling up the rest of the couch. "Is anyone wounded?"

"I'm all good," Tori said, instigating a stream of health assessments, all of them fine, Hunter going so far as to give Shane a small nod of approval. Which was…hell, he was too tired to be spiteful; he would just appreciate it.

See? Bonding. Bonding was good.

"Alright," Shane said, shaking off the nonsense brought on by fatigue. "Why don't we just start from the beginning, before everything went to hell." He turned to Hunter, flicking his eyes to the rifle resting across the other teen's knees before focusing on the blond. "Did anything suspicious happen before your team went in?"

"Nothing that I saw," Hunter murmured, nodding slowly. "Everything looked clear."

"Things didn't go ape-shit until we were almost out of time," Blake muttered, unperturbed by the small frown Tori gave him at his choice of wording.

"There must have been some kind of indicator on the buildings," Cam murmured, eyes focusing on the far side of the room as he pondered their problem. "Something that went off when we entered the warehouse. That's the only reason I can think of for such timely arrival."

"You don't think they just happened to be in the neighborhood?" Blake joked, lightly elbowing his brother in the side despite the non-reaction he _had_ to have been expecting. "Decided to stop for a visit?"

"Doubtful," Cam replied, though he managed to keep any irritation out of his tone. Which was about the Cam-equivalent for joking back.

By Blake's growing smile, Shane could tell the navy ranger realized this too.

"It doesn't make any sense though," Tori began, fingers running along the sturdy material of her new pants, twitching in leftover adrenaline. "That place looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. Why would they bother keeping close tabs on it?"

"Maybe there's something nearby?" Dustin offered, hand twisting restlessly through his dirty curls.

"Possibly," Cam said. "Though I feel that I might have added to the…_aggressiveness_ of their attack."

"What are you saying Cam?" Shane asked, immediately straightening up, turning in the tech's direction. "Did it have to do with the thing you found?"

"What thing?" And then Hunter was leaning forward too, joining the other ranger in studying Cam.

"I think so," Cam replied, answering Shane's question. "And," he added, looking towards Hunter, "I'm not entirely sure what it was. Only that it was difficult to get to."

Tori stared at him quietly, finally reeling in some of her excess energy as she rejoined the conversation. "Do you have it now?"

"No," Cam replied, ignoring the way Hunter slouched back against his brother, frown clearly indicating he was not pleased with this answer. "It was too well guarded. However," he began, leveling a solid look at the crimson ranger. "I can say it is a piece of equipment, portable, and something, I think, that they are looking for." He sighed, sitting back against the couch. "I think I accidentally set off some kind of tripwire. Some of the panels lit up as I tried to…Well, it doesn't matter now."

"So, this thing," Tori began, looking at the tech beside her. "You think they were looking for it too?"

"Yes," Cam replied with a nod.

"And whoever made those robots didn't want it falling into their hands," Blake said quietly, slowly putting the pieces together.

"Yes."

"That's great and all," Hunter began, clearly trying to reign in his impatience. "But what exactly does that say about _what's going on_?"

"Those things weren't from Lothor," Blake muttered, bringing them all back to the mysteries of the murderous aliens. "None of this feels like Lothor."

"It could just be someone else's alternate dimension," Tori suggested. "He hires mercenaries doesn't he?"

"I think a…_world_ of this detail and size would require skill beyond that of the average monster-for-hire," Cam explained quietly. "If an evildoer had enough power to create and maintain this place they wouldn't bother with Lothor. They would skip the middleman and try to conquer Earth themselves."

This grabbed Dustin's attention. "So you think there's a new bad-guy on the scene?"

"It's a possibility," Cam replied, focusing on the yellow ranger before turning his attention to the rest of the team. "Though it would be a lot of trouble. And not very efficient. That is, if this was a place entirely of their creation. There's always the likelihood that they or Lothor could have simply accessed another dimension, one that already exists, and dumped us there, but the very idea of it…" He shook his head, a hand unconsciously rising to rub his temple. "I only know of the options provided to us by science or by those utilizing ninja techniques, and either way such a feat is, to this point, impossible."

"Wait, wait, I don't understand," Blake interrupted, eyebrows furrowing as he listened to Cam's explanation. "What do you mean by 'one that already exists'? We've been thrown into like, ten alternate dimensions before this one and _clearly_ they existed."

"Because of the creator's intent," Cam replied, keeping his eyes on the navy ranger, ignoring the movement beside him as Tori and Dustin deftly switched places; the new complexity of their discussion making Dustin want to be closer to his emotional rock.

"What you must understand," Cam continued, "is that most of the dimensions we have been trapped in were on a much smaller scale. They were usually the rough equivalent of one room, such as your entrapment in the popcorn container or Tori's imprisonment when Marah and Kapri attempted to clone her. These were all small places and as such, could in theory exist perpetually. Because of how little energy it takes to create them and because they are simply one static place, they are easy to maintain. _That_ is an alternate dimension which is created, not found naturally."

"Like Choobo's backpack," Blake muttered, and Cam gave him a small nod.

"Exactly," the tech replied. "But this place is huge and constantly changing. All the variables, like the weather, the position of the sun, the sheer size of it would require constant attention and energy. So what I mean when I say Lothor has possibly accessed a dimension that _already_ exists, I am elaborating on the idea of the multiverse."

"And what exactly…?" Dustin began to ask, unconsciously shifting closer to the tech. He realized his error (with the question, to clarify, because Dustin had never given a damn about physical boundaries) and smiled sheepishly at the green ranger. "Sorry, right. You were probably about to get to that."

"Smooth Dustin," Blake murmured, joking smile tugging at his lips.

Dustin responded with a cheerful wave. "The _smoothest_."

"The multiverse," Cam continued, talking over the interruption as though it never occurred. "Is a theory that explores all the possibilities that do and potentially _could_ exist. To put it in way easier to understand, for every decision we make there are several options presented as possibilities that we neglected. The idea of a multiverse is that there are other universes, perhaps parallel to ours, where _those_ decisions play out. So, for example, if one morning Dustin had to choose between having a muffin for breakfast or having a bowl of cereal-"

"I would totally choose the muffin by the way," Dustin interrupted happily. "Even if it was bran. Muffins are _awesome_."

"Right," Cam replied absently, showing his affection for the yellow ranger by _not_ biting his head off for cutting in. "So in this universe, Dustin eats the muffin. But there would be another universe created from that divergence, where Dustin chose the bowl of cereal instead."

"So what you're saying is that there's actually like, millions of other universes based on all the decisions everyone on the planet _didn't_ make?" Shane asked, trying to wrap his head around the idea. "So you think this place is just one of those?"

"Possibly," Cam responded, because that was his new favorite word for _'let's talk science'_ time. "But like I said, through either science or Ninjutsu accessing one of these parallel universes is impossible. _If_ they exist at all."

"That doesn't cover magic though," Tori noted, earning a tired look from Cam.

"I realize this. Though hypothetically if someone did find a way to access alternate dimensions utilizing magic, the amount of power necessary to do so would be…even to someone as unfamiliar with that field as myself, it seems like it would be easier to simply use that same energy to destroy us. It would be a more straightforward and definite end."

"So what are you saying?" Hunter asked, finally running low on patience.

Shane was honestly surprised the crimson ranger had managed to keep quiet for this long. He was tired, just like the rest of them, so Shane supposed that was what allowed the others leeway to draw the discussion out.

"I think," Cam said under the weight of all their stares. "Based on everything I have seen, that this is not an alternate dimension at all. I believe that Lothor finally realized the faults in his previous plans and devised a new strategy for getting us out of the way."

It was logical, everything Cam had said, every point he made supported this, but there were still so many questions Shane had, like why they didn't have their powers and if they weren't in an alternate dimension, _where_, exactly, were they?

But he didn't have to ask; none of them needed to bother prompting, not even Dustin this time, because they didn't want to waste anymore seconds before Cam gave them the answer. Because he would; he was in explanation-mode and Cam in explanation mode was as predictable as it got.

With the exception of what he actually explained, of course.

"I think," the green ranger continued, giving each of them an even look to make sure they were paying attention, that no ranger was being left behind. "That we have been _teleported_ somewhere."

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

If they had been living in a movie there probably would have been a dramatic pause after Cam made his declaration to allow for it to sink into the audience's mind, and all while the music would be swelling in a boisterous and overdone fashion, happily carrying on over extreme close ups of each of their reactions.

But as bizarre as this place was, there were no hidden orchestras to provide the appropriate mood music and there was no script to take cues from, so it wasn't all that surprising when the moment Cam had finished talking Hunter cut right in; his pent up frustration bursting past what little restraint he had left.

"Are you _stupid_?" he asked, fist clenching tight in his lap, knuckles brushing against the rifle's barrel. "I mean," he continued at Cam's return glower, because the blond actually _did_ like Cam, as much as he liked anyone. "I respect you Cam and trust you enough even when I have no way of verifying what you say, but how does teleportation account for our lack of powers?"

"I was getting to that," Cam replied. Surprisingly enough he didn't sound irritated, which led Shane to believe he had been expecting a fight from somebody (and he probably knew it would be Hunter). "While I am aware of no way to access an alternate dimension using Ninjutsu, which we had been assuming was the source of our power nullification, there _is_ a technique to cut a ninja off from their power source."

This earned audible gasps from Dustin and Tori, and even Shane was fighting not to join them. He had thought…He had been so sure that was impossible. Sensei had never mentioned the prospect of-

"It is a very old and very difficult technique," Cam was saying, continuing as they tried to soak in the news. "An immense undertaking to use it against one person, let alone six simultaneously-"

"But it's possible," Hunter recapped.

Cam nodded. "Yes."

_Again_ with the possible.

"So Lothor…" Dustin began, eyebrows furrowed as he studied his lap, trying to make sense of things. "He snatched us up and at the same time he cut us off?"

"I believe so," Cam answered, a nice change of pace from all the damn _"possible's"_ that were being thrown around.

"So how do we undo it?" Hunter asked, frown becoming a permanent fixture on his face. "_Can_ we even undo it? And if we've been teleported somewhere then _where-?_"

"In answer to your first question," Cam replied, calm and steady voice a sharp contrast to Hunter's disgruntled tone. "No, we cannot. We would need someone of equal skill and knowledge and even if we had that it would still require a great deal of energy."

"Which we have no way of accessing," Tori muttered, hand clenching the arm of the couch as though it was the source of all their wrongs.

"Exactly," Cam said. "As for where we are, I believe those warehouses could be an indication of that."

"That's right." Tori immediately brightened up at the mention of the abandoned city only half an hour behind them. "There were clothes and weapons-"

"All designed for people," Blake finished, blinking his eyes as he finally noticed Tori's new clothing addition. The aqua ranger, catching sight of this inspection, returned it with a smile.

Their mini stare-off was called to an end when Dustin nudged a meagerly sock-clad foot against Tori's side, causing the blonde to stare at him a moment before remembering the reason for the brunette's mild displeasure. This sent her immediately digging through her bag, eventually returning Dustin's borrowed shoes with a bashful smile a few seconds later.

"Do you think this was someone's attempt at a colony?" Shane asked, keeping a fond eye on the rest of the team's antics all the while trying to move the conversation forward. "Like they tried to settle down here?"

Before Cam could respond Hunter cut in, eyes narrowed as he offered Cam his theory. "But then things went bad-"

"In the form of killer aliens," Shane muttered and, surprisingly enough, that did _not_ earn him an annoyed look from the blond.

Hunter continued, "So they tried to cover it up instead?"

"And the robots." The two red rangers whipped their heads at Dustin's enthusiastic addition. "The robots didn't attack _us_ right? They attacked the aliens, so they've got to be human-friendly."

Cam nodded slowly, considering this. "Let's assume for the moment the robots are on our side."

"Okay, so the robots are people friendly." Tori said. "Now we've just got to figure out exactly who the people were."

"Or _are_," Blake offered quietly, proposing the possibility that there _could_ actually be other people out there.

Though for as long as they had been running, Shane was sort of doubtful. They would have noticed something by this point.

"I dunno Tor," Dustin mumbled absently, tugging at his hair as his eyes squinted in thought. "All the boxes I saw had funny markings on them."

"That would be Russian," Cam corrected softly.

Dustin paused for a moment before flushing, sinking back into the couch with a quiet, "Oh."

"Russians?" Hunter asked loudly, not incredulous, just maybe (if Shane was giving him enough credit) to get the attention off of Dustin. Because he felt like being nice.

It could happen.

Happened; _had_ happened.

Shane needed to give the blond credit where credit was due.

"It's not surprising," Cam replied, taking the bait. "Aside from the United States, Russia has one of the most advanced space programs."

"But if Russia was launching some kind of distant planet-habitation initiative, wouldn't they like, publicize the heck out of it?" Tori asked, sharing a confused look with Shane.

"_Oh_, like they did with that other one," Dustin exclaimed, forgetting his bashfulness as he snapped his fingers, some distant memory coming to mind. "The GSA one, when we were kids?"

"He means Terra Venture," Cam elaborated when Dustin's outburst was met with nothing but blank stares. "The Galactic Space Alliance attempted to discover a new world for humans to live on awhile ago, using the space station Terra Venture as their main base of operations. When communications were reestablished between the colonists and NASADA we learned that their mission was successful."

"And Russia wanted to copy that success," Shane finished.

"It would appear that way," Cam answered. "Though it would seem they were not met with the same good fortune as the GSA colonists."

"But what about these weapons?" Blake asked, balancing his rifle on his outstretched palms. "These weren't made on Earth."

"But the boxes they came in were," Tori cut in, eyes widening slightly. "At least, that's what it looked like-"

"_Guys_," Shane interrupted before this whole mess could unravel into an endless train of questions they couldn't answer. "We're not going to figure out everything right now. Why don't we just focus on the basics and rest for a bit. We'll figure something out later."

Tori frowned at his suggestion. "But Shane-"

"_Later_ Tori. There's no reason we have to do everything at this exact moment. We just…" he trailed off with a vague gesture, motioning to their obviously haggard appearances, tired from the excitement, thought, and exertion of the day. "We need to recuperate some; come back to this with fresh minds, okay?"

Usually that was the kind of thing Tori was all about, taking a step back to evaluate things objectively; that was her and Cam's forte. She prided herself in keeping a level head.

This was logic she couldn't argue against, even if she really wanted to.

She studied him for a few seconds, contemplating a rebuttal anyway, but eventually she caved with a weary groan, collapsing back against the cushions of the couch. "_Fine_."

"That's the spirit," Dustin chuckled, poking a brave finger against the blonde's cheek. She opened one lazy eye at him, considering for a moment, and then sighed.

In the next instant Cam gave off a mildly perturbed grunt as the yellow ranger fell back against him, a victorious Tori having tackled the brunette to the side, making a show of contemplating the possibilities her position offered her.

Mainly, this involved tickling.

Dustin's choked laughs and beseeching protests provided a refreshing soundtrack as the rest of the team broke off to give the room a more thorough examination. The pile of blankets, while not the most visually stimulating, looked like they could do their job well enough. They had their fair share of patches and the edges were a little tattered, but they weren't threadbare. And they were soft which was a definite plus in Shane's book.

"Guys," Blake called from the far side of the room, tone celebratory as he braved peaking through one of the extra doors. "I think I found a bathroom. There's a couple tubs in here filled with water."

"Tubs?" Tori echoed, immediately pausing her harassment of Dustin's sides to focus on this _very_ important issue. "Like a real bathroom?"

"Looks like it," Blake replied, smile growing at the blonde's sudden interest. "There might even be _soap_ too."

"Don't joke with me Blake," Tori warned, leveling a threatening finger in the navy ranger's direction. "That would be too cruel."

"Dude, tread lightly," Dustin cautioned, still trapped under the commanding weight of the aqua ranger. "You are in sensitive territory."

Undeniably, that applied to them all by this point. Because they had been constantly on guard for any of Lothor's attacks, they hadn't been able to do much by way of hygiene except for the occasional face-wash in a stream. It was unquestionably one of the crueler facets of Lothor's possible-alternate dimension. Jogging for one full day made your clothes gross enough; now consider jogging for _ten_-

Shane was almost certain the majority of Tori's liberated duffle contained new clothes for them all, which she would demand they change into, insisting that their original outfits be torn up and _burned_, and Shane couldn't help but support this position. He supported this position _so much_.

If Blake knew what was good for him, he wouldn't be joking about the soap.

"No worries," Blake replied, voice muffled as he took another peak into the bathroom, this time with lantern in hand. "There is definitely soap, with the added bonus of shampoo."

Tori immediately responded by throwing her head back and cheering, "Hallelujah!"; her jubilance intermingling with Dustin's as the yellow ranger punched a fist into the air, "Bingo!"

"And there was much rejoicing," Shane added quietly, smiling as neither of rangers on the couch made to move, attempting to seek comfort in what they could, while they could do it.

"And also," Blake added, voice thoughtful. "Candles."

"They must have lost power at some point," Cam noted. "It would explain why the tubs were already filled."

"And this place being creepily dark," Dustin added, trying to be helpful. For his efforts he got a brief cursory glance from the green ranger, but that was enough for Dustin, probably. He didn't need a lot.

"I think this might be a locker room," Hunter called, having followed Blake's lead in inspecting the other doors. "Which also sports candles. There's a whole crate of them in the corner. Matches too."

"Looks like we're set," Blake said, words coming out in a small exhale as he stretched his arms over his head, trying to work the kinks out of his back. "At least for a little bit."

"What about food?" Tori asked, deciding she had dawdled enough and climbing off the couch, picking up the box of matches and breezing past Shane easily, intent on lighting the bathroom. "We probably only have enough for tonight and tomorrow morning."

"I think I've got that covered Tor," Dustin mumbled, pulling himself upright with a small huff. "I mean, maybe. If what I grabbed is what I thought it was."

Without bothering with further explanations the yellow ranger reached down and dragged his bulging backpack until it was nestled between his feet. He deftly unlatched the top and, to Shane's surprise, did not get avalanched upon by the bag's contents but instead started digging around inside, pulling out random items and setting them on the couch next to him.

"I wasn't entirely sure what these things were, but I thought it couldn't hurt to check right? Maybe one of you guys would know…"

"So for all you know you could have a backpack full of explosives?" Blake asked, eyebrow quirked as he leaned right next to the door of the locker room, providing an intermediary for his brother as Hunter got to work lighting up that area. "Smooth Dustin."

"Hey, explosives are useful," Dustin countered lightly, eyes focused on the brown package in his hand, frowning at the Russian printed across it.

"Let me see that." Cam paused his task of relocating the scavenged blankets as he carefully relieved Dustin of his item. "This looks like an MRE."

Dustin's eyebrows furrowed. "An MR what-?"

"A meal ready-to-eat," Cam elaborated, talking over the question he knew had been coming. "Military rations."

"Are you sure?" Blake asked, staring at the package, curious expression on his face.

Cam leveled a deadpan look at him. "I don't know; allow me to brush off my Russian."

This peaked Dustin's interest. "Do you-?"

"Sarcasm, Dustin," Shane explained quietly, and brunette gave him what was best described as a disappointed pout, sad that Cam's knowledge did not include the Russian language.

"_Nertz_," the yellow ranger mumbled.

Shane had been so focused on the curly-haired teen he lost track of what Cam was doing until there came a sharp inhale from Blake, as though he were about to make a warning, and Shane looked up in time to see the tech rip the package open, ready to confirm his theory.

When they didn't explode a minute later (though explosions don't work like that; right, _good one Shane_) the red ranger walked over to the tech's side, joining him in inspecting the inside of this "MRE".

"That's food?" Blake asked, having joined the congregation around the green ranger.

"Yes," Cam replied, pushing the younger Bradley's face away with his index finger as he kept his eyes on the…power bars? Inside.

"Did I do good then?" Dustin asked, perking up at the idea that his randomly acquired goods would actually help them. He let out a triumphant hoot at Cam's return nod, the tech still focused on the field rations in his hands, so Shane took it upon himself to answer Dustin's high-five, joining in his achievement.

"Very good," Shane confirmed.

The moment of quiet celebration was broken when Hunter reemerged from the locker room, black, un-lidded box held in his hands. "I think I found some radios."

See, the quiet celebration ended because it became a more, medium/large-minus sized one.

They all cheered at that, even Cam with his quirked smile (because that was Cam cheering; that was Cam cheering all the way), Blake moving to clap his brother on the back happily. Hunter went so far as to give a tiny smile of his own, instead of griping at the action.

"I don't know if they still work," he explained, setting the box near to Dustin's feet. "But I figure if they're battery charged we can test them out later."

"Awesome," Shane chirped, his smile threatening to grow to ridiculous sizes as he watched Hunter and Dustin exchange fist bumps for this discovery.

Bonding. Bondingbondingbonding was _good_.

Even if it had taken almost getting blown up by random blood-thirsty aliens.

They had _bonded_.

"Did you finish lighting up the other room?" Cam aimed this question at Hunter, paying Blake no attention as he relieved the tech of his MRE, holding it close to give it an experimental sniff.

"Not quite," Hunter replied, frowning as his brother broke off a corner of one of the power bars, intercepting the younger teen's hand before it could finish the journey to his mouth.

"Dude," Dustin said, hopping up from the couch. "They have Russian M&M's in here!"

He waved the package-in-question enthusiastically as he said this, focusing on Cam and Blake as he innocently snatched up Blake's food offering with his free hand, popping it into his mouth before any of them could protest.

Wait, did he just-?

"_Dustin-_" Tori began, rejoining the fray with a concerned look on her face, but the brunette waved her off.

"Not poisoned," he said, talking around his mouthful.

Yes, he had. Dustin had just eaten food that had been sitting in an unmonitored warehouse for who knew how long without so much as a by-your-leave which wasn't- Shane should have seen it coming, it wasn't surprising, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

"You shouldn't have done that," Cam murmured, though his looks of disapproval were aimed mostly at the two Bradleys. Probably for not doing a better job of preventing Dustin's action.

The yellow ranger shrugged. "Someone had to. Might as well be me." He swallowed and looked up towards the ceiling, lost in thought. "And hey, if I get sick in an hour then we'll know not to eat it."

Cam raised one dubious eyebrow, the effect of which was slightly counteracted by his hands curling into tight fists against his sides. "How prudent of you."

It came down to a question of worth. If they were going to risk someone…

Shane would have preferred it to never come to that, but Dustin was right, someone _did_ have to try. That didn't add any value to his selection process though. Shane knew, just like Tori knew, that Dustin wasn't the most confident of people, but he _had_ to know what he did for them as a team, not just with fighting but as a part of their family.

He didn't though, not always.

And that was something Cam hated.

"Alright, plan time," Shane began, trying to re-focus the tech before his overprotective side could come out and completely dominate the night. "Tori, why don't you hit the bathroom first? Change into some real clothes."

Tori frowned, obviously wanting to linger to keep an eye on Dustin, but eventually nodded, managing a small smile. "I never thought I'd say this, but it would be nice to get out of this swimsuit."

"I thought as much," Shane replied, offering her a grin. It was as contagious as he'd hoped it be and Tori even managed a wink and a quick salute before going off to perform her assigned task. "Now," Shane continued, turning towards the navy ranger. "You and Dustin can sort through all the MREs as best you can."

And by that Shane meant _Blake, stay with Dustin and call if he begins to turn green or something_, but the younger Bradley seemed to get his hidden message, replying with a small nod as he settled down next to the earth ninja, who was already back to digging through his stolen backpack with a gusto.

Shane turned towards the remaining rangers. "Cam-"

"We can finish with the locker room," the tech suggested thoughtfully; an innocent enough proposal were it not for Cam's undeniable _it's-secret-ninja-time_ face he usually got whenever he wanted to talk to Shane about something without alerting the rest of the team. Usually this involved Cam pointing out all the things he was doing to be a horrible leader, or reminding Shane for what was the _millionth_ time to play nice with the Bradleys, or that one hysterical instance where the tech had just wanted him to sneak a sweatshirt to Dustin _"because he can't be distracted by cold Shane"_ and very explicitly told him to _never_ mention where it came from because Cam was a socially awkward person like that, who couldn't give gifts for the sake of giving _gifts_.

But seeing as this time Cam was being obvious enough to let Hunter in on the fun, Shane assumed it was something a little more serious than the customary reasons.

"Sounds good," Shane replied, watching as Hunter gave his brother a thoughtful look before turning on his heel and making his way towards the locker room. As Cam quickly followed behind him, Shane looked back to the other two rangers, hands full of brown packages. "And if you guys get that all settled you can check out the other doors. Just…don't bother with them if they're hallways, okay?"

"You got it boss man," Dustin said breezily, offering Shane a quick smile before he was once more consumed by his task. Blake nodded quietly beside him, indicating he understood and, if Shane didn't read too much into it (and he probably did, because that was his life today), that he would try to keep a better eye on the yellow ranger in the future.

Shane returned the gesture with a reassuring smile of his own before moving to join Cam and Hunter, wondering what topic their mini brain trust was going to end up tackling. If he had enough energy left to spare his nerves, there would have probably been some apprehension on Shane's part, but as it was he was tired and shaken and wanted nothing more than to collapse in that pile of blankets and pass out for a couple of hours, so the best he could manage was a sort of quiet resignation.

The blankets would have to wait.

Cam and Hunter were waiting for him in the farthest part of the locker room, a secluded closed-in area that had been used as private showers just beyond the larger communal ones. When he joined them Cam was consumed with the small notebook balanced on his knees, frantically writing things down while Hunter was crouched beside him, finishing up with the last couple of candles for this particular area.

Shane attempted to mask his exhaustion as he settled down across from them, completing their small triangle of ninjas and waiting for Cam to get down to business.

He didn't even get to finish getting situated before the tech was talking, tapping his mechanical pencil against his bottom lip as he frowned at the paper in front of him. "We need more information."

Hunter leveled a gauging look at Cam as he flicked his used match off into the corner. "I assume you have a way to get that or we wouldn't be here."

"The…thing?" Shane asked, scrambling to remember what Cam had mentioned earlier, the conversation feeling much farther away than just a measly half hour, if that. "The equipment? Is that what you're talking about?"

"That is _exactly_ what I'm talking about," Cam replied, his eyes still glued on his…whatever he was doing. "It was well guarded but I almost had it-"

"What, do you want to go _back_ for it?" Shane asked, wondering exactly what this was about. It wasn't an outlandish demand, they needed answers, but why all the secrecy?

"I do," Cam answered with a definite nod. "And the longer we wait to do it the harder it will be."

"So this meeting's about time," Hunter said, eyes narrowing as he studied the tech. "You want us to go back out there."

"I want _some_ of us to go back out," Cam confirmed, tossing the notebook down in front of him with a careless tilt of the fingers, displeased with something. "The less of us that go, the…greater our chances of success."

"You mean we'll be stealthier," Shane supplied, rubbing a hand across his face as he thought about the others' reactions to this plan.

Displeasure would be the most optimistic response, with rebellion capping off the far end of the spectrum and unfortunately being the more likely of the two options.

"The longer we wait," Cam started, knowing the train of thought Shane had to be traveling. "The more of those aliens show up. We could possibly out wait them, kill time until they lose interest and abandon the warehouses again but based on resources alone they can hold out much longer than we can. If we go now, while their forces are scattered, we _might_ have a chance of acquiring the equipment."

"That's a lot of maybes." And a lot of variables that Shane didn't like. "And let's face it, we're not really in any condition to pull this off. Besides how do you know this thing…this equipment will have the answers we're looking for?"

"I just-" Cam bit off, pulling himself to his full height as he paused to collect himself, holding back his aggravation. "I just _know_ Shane. I realize that sounds entirely illogical and that it's risky and quite honestly one of the most _stupid_ plans we have ever considered, but I…" he trailed off with a shake of his head, staring at Shane with a beseeching expression. "It just _feels_ right Shane."

Hunter cut in before Shane could offer his opinion on the matter, leaning back casually as he asked, "So Cam, how are your eyes?"

"Still private," the tech snapped, frowning at the blond's question, but Hunter only shrugged in response.

"Had to check," he said. "You and gut feelings don't normally go together Cam."

"I realize that," the bespectacled teen shot back, an edge in his tone. "But this piece of equipment, it _feels_ valuable and I…" He trailed off, frowning, reaching a lazy finger down to tap against his notebook. "I don't think the aliens can get to it. I think only humans access it, hence the alarm."

"Isn't that just more reason to wait?" Shane wondered aloud, disregarding the sour look he knew he would earn.

He got it; they were holed up with limited resources and the longer they waited the more bad guys would show up. But if they went back to the warehouses wouldn't that just agitate the aliens _more_? If they stole something right from under their noses, something that they wanted (supposedly), only more of the damn things would show up, making it harder to escape this place. At this point, they only knew of one entrance to their hideout, which was way too close to alien central for comfort. If they pissed the aliens off and somehow managed to hightail it back here, they could end up trapped.

Sure, they would be wise and well-learned fish in a barrel if that piece of equipment did what they hoped it would, but that would be a difficult justification for _starving to death_.

"We need to get back out there before all the robots are destroyed."

This quiet declaration came from Hunter. He looked at them thoughtfully once he saw he had their attention. "If there's still some of those robots out there…"

"We might have a shot," Shane finished, blinking in realization. Hunter was right, of course. Shane had completely forgotten about the robots (seriously, the_ robots_, the giant mech things that were- yeah, he forgot _those_).

He turned towards Hunter wanting to say…what? Good job? Way to not be an idiot? High five? They all seemed stupid and too personal for their barely-working relationship, so instead Shane inclined his head in the other teen's direction, mumbling, "Good thinking."

Because it was. He could admit that.

Shane expected the crimson ranger's reaction to be somewhere along the lines of complete and total disregard to maybe one of his patented _no-shit_ stares, but instead it seemed like he caught Hunter by surprise. For a moment it was the most open Shane had seen the older Bradley, just; this innocent befuddlement in his eyes before the armor was back on and the blond nodded, because _obviously_ it was good thinking.

But he didn't finish it off with the _no-shit_ stare, so Shane considered it a minor victory.

Cam continued on before they could get too caught up in their uncomfortable social conducts, glancing between the two of them, planning-face engaged. "We need to leave as soon as possible."

"Who should go?" Shane asked, or, more honestly, prompted, because he wanted to see where Cam was leading them. He had been edging the two red rangers in a certain direction since this conversation began.

"Obviously me," the tech answered.

"And Blake and I," Hunter added. "Since we have the most experience with stealth."

"I don't want…" Shane began, trailing off at Hunter's dubious glance, ready for Shane to disagree with him, but the leader kept to his guns. "We can't send off both of you. I want one of you guys to stay behind, just in case…" Shane didn't want to tempt any of the possibilities into arising by bare mention, but anything from getting split up to...other things demanded that he think about the team being left behind. "Just in case," he finished.

Hunter stared at him for a few long seconds, considering this and, much to Shane's surprise, nodded in agreement. "I understand."

"Good then," Cam murmured, scooping up his notepad. "You two will do just fine."

Shane snapped his head to look at the tech. "Wait, you-"

Cam talked over him, picking himself off the floor with effortless grace that seemed incredibly unfair. "I know you two idiots well enough to figure out you'd both want to come. It'll save us a lot of time if we just assent to this utterly moronic plan than if we wait for you two to come to some sort of agreement."

He stared down at them when both of them failed to move, stunned (or at least, Shane was) at the sudden turn of events.

The tech sighed and glanced over to the red ranger. "I knew you wouldn't want to send both of the Bradleys, and there was no way Hunter would let Blake go in his stead. And if Hunter went it was pretty much a given that you'd have to go too. That was how it was going to turn out, and at least Tori and Blake will be able to keep it together after they discover we've snuck out."

Shane raised his eyebrows. "We are sneaking…?"

"I'm leaving a note," Cam replied, holding up his tiny spiral as he began to walk out of the locker room. "I find it doubtful they would allow us to leave were they informed of our intentions."

"Wow Cam," Shane started, smiling brightly as he unfolded his legs from the meditative position. "Gut feelings _and_ sneaky idiot plans, all in one day? Guess Hunter wasn't wrong to check your eyesight after all."

"I wasn't," Hunter murmured, but there was no heat to it. In fact, it was probably the closest they had gotten to camaraderie since their mildly-forced team up at Total Trek.

Well, look at that. Hunter had decided Shane was worth his time of day.

_Nice_.

Were Shane a desperate person, he would say it almost made the minor string of heart attacks and proposed idiotic warehouse infiltrations worth it. But he wasn't a desperate person.

He was a _realistic_ person.

So he could say, with no degree of doubt, that it was _definitely_ worth it.

Because the Ninja Storm team didn't do things by halves. Earning trust included.

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

Sneaking out wasn't as difficult as it should have been, though to be fair their plan was pretty dumb. Dumb enough that Blake shouldn't have suspected anything foul when Shane sent him and Dustin into the locker room. Their new job was to search through every compartment for supplies, leaving no locker unexplored, to see if they could find anything else that would help them out. By Shane's rough estimate there had to be at least a hundred of the things in their multiple rows, all probably intent on resisting any ventures for opening, so it would keep the two rangers occupied for a good while, even if Dustin griped about Shane pawning his duties off on unsuspecting an obedient teammates.

But they still left, no suspicion or protests (Blake seemed to take his new task as a sort of punishment for earlier, and with a stern look from Cam Shane could say it partially was) and with Tori still occupied with washing the grime of their travels away there was no one to object to a quiet stroll down the hall, back from whence they came.

Cam, as he promised, left a note in obvious sight perched on the couch, a lantern immediately adjacent with the first page proclaiming "READ ME" in as large a font as the condensed space would allow. There was a chance the others still wouldn't discover it immediately, or at least, the other two wouldn't, but Shane had faith in Tori. Blake would be too busy with Dustin to notice something was awry, which left it all in the aqua ranger's very capable hands.

Based on how dirty she was and their limited plumbing Shane was willing to give them about forty five minutes to an hour to get this done, assuming Blake and Dustin didn't run out of busy work by then.

The three traveled lightly, each of them with one of the rifles looped across their chests (in their haste they hadn't noticed the straps earlier, though it made sense seeing as the soldiers that used them previously probably didn't want to _lose_ them). Shane, who was fortunate enough to have deep pockets, (or, in comparison to Hunter, _have_ pockets because the blond hadn't changed out of his motocross pants yet) was able to equip himself with two of the pistols, just in case, while Hunter had strung one of the canister belts across his chest, opposite of his rifle strap. After a brief inspection Cam had decided Shane's discovered metallic containers were most likely grenades of a sort, or at the very least would most likely explode when placed under the correct circumstances. If they were missiles. Or giant bullets.

Okay, they were willing to admit they couldn't figure out what the hell they were, but if things went sideways on them it probably wouldn't hurt to chuck a few onto the battlefield and see what happened.

Unless they shot out some magical healing spray, they couldn't do that much damage.

Their trek back towards the surface was a quiet one, each of them consumed with their own thoughts, their own preparations, and soon enough they were back at the door they had frantically been trying to shut less than an hour before, hallway dead-ending in a flurry of dried leaves and rubbish.

Cam signaled them to hold still for a moment, pausing as he listened to the world above them. There was nothing nearby, no more lasers or explosions or heavy footsteps of alien scouts. It was as clear as it was ever going to be. They shut off the extra lantern and abandoned it to the side of the hallway, using the glow from their weapons to navigate from there on out. Hunter clasped his hands together, rifle tucked under his shoulder as he gave Cam a leg up, the green ranger taking great care as he pushed the sliding door aside. This time, Shane noted, it was much more cooperative, silent as it opened up to reveal the pressing night beyond it, sun having finally set on Russia space-colony land.

_Well,__** shit**_.

The others realized the source of his aggravation almost immediately, discovering that their weapons, under the dark of night, would not aid their stealth-based mission. The only thing that seemed fairly passable were Shane's two pistols, hidden under his clothes, and Hunter's canisters, which had no glow-y detail like the firearms did.

They had no choice but to take out the ammo-cartridge things that seemed to power the rifles and keep a tight hold of them next to the triggers. It was the only way to keep the guns from glowing and even if it risked losing a hold of the ammo in some scuffle they all knew it had to be done. To ere on the side of caution (yes, he knew, that was rich coming from him in this particular situation) he offered Hunter one of his pistols anyway and blond gladly took it, tucking it in the back of his pants mafia-style before he waving Shane on, boosting him out into the night after their tech who had already started scouting the area.

The trip back to the warehouses was just as horribly heart pumping as it had been earlier, though more for _omg-stealth-with-no-powers_ reasons as opposed to the _oh-god-oh-god-we're-going-__**to-die**_ ones from earlier. They could still hear the sounds of distant battle, of ships maneuvering overhead and the heavy clanking of some stubbornly unyielding mechs. Were Shane closer he would bet anything they would be sparking, balancing between function and destruction with a ferocity only walking Russian tanks could manage.

Whatever troops had chased them out of the work town had clearly been called back to their main forces because aside from some anxious moments where Shane thought he _might_ have broken a twig beneath his feet, their silent expedition had been met with no confrontation. It wasn't until the warehouses were almost upon them when they finally saw movement again, the battle from earlier clearly in its peak as more robots and turrets arose from their long abandoned bunkers, fending off the alien advancements.

It was now or never.

Or, he supposed, _later_, but their mass of robot pals probably wouldn't be as fortuitously distracting as they were now, drawing the alien fire off deeper into the town, leaving the outer warehouses unattended.

Cam didn't wait for a signal, only glanced over his shoulder to confirm the other two rangers had managed to keep up before he threw himself out into the open, weaving between the smoking husks of battle droids and alien ships. A small push from Hunter prompted Shane forward after the tech and from then on conscious thought was a difficult thing to keep hold of, his heart pounding too loudly in his ears to allow for things like coherency to rule. It was mostly a few anxiety filled-minutes based on pure instinct, following Cam's lead reflexively and steadfastly ignoring the carcasses of fallen aliens, dark blood spilling out onto the ground, staining the earth.

They were into the warehouse before Shane even realized it, only coming to when Hunter clasped his shoulder, signaling him to watch the far end of the building as the blond guarded the door they just came through. Cam, who must have already done a cursory examination of the place, had already moved to climb the ladder, deciding there were no hidden enemies here.

It didn't take long for Shane to finally get back on his game, or whatever game he had while pretending to be a space warrior, and motioned for Hunter to follow him behind the meager cover of the weapon's wracks. He knew it wasn't a lot, but it was better than being sitting ducks or nestling between the clothing crates where the windows would be to their backs. Whether it was the smartest move or not, Hunter followed him without complaint, keeping his gun, now fully armed, trained on the door, eyes re-adjusting to the darkness.

Only a few of the turrets from earlier had survived Shane noted, and they didn't function with nearly as much enthusiasm as they had before. But they still tried, the two or three that remained, sputtering off the occasional volley of lasers before they'd overheat or choke up (best way he could describe it), grinding in conflict as part of them attempted to continue their duty while the mechanics tried to fail. The spirit, it was strong, but the body was weak.

Shane had to give them credit for trying though.

In the moments while they waited, sweat pooling down the back of his neck and fingers restless as he adjusted to the unfamiliar weight of his rifle, Shane tried to pull his mind off the tension running through his body, eyes focused on the doors but allowing thoughts wander, ever so slightly.

None of this was adding up. If there had been some kind of tripwire or alarm Cam had set off for a piece of equipment the aliens wanted, shouldn't they be trying their damndest to _get it_? Military strategy was not Shane's strongest point, but if… Cam said he thought only humans could get to it. Well if that was the case, wouldn't the aliens have tried _harder_ to capture them when they first ran away?

Maybe they hadn't seen them because they were too busy fighting all the robots earlier, but then there were the stray blasts that followed them into the woods and Shane knew that couldn't be true.

Where the hell had all these robots come from anyway? All these guns and weapons…If they were in perfect working order why hadn't the _last_ set of people used them to defend themselves? Had they all just…died before that could happen? Did they go through all the trouble of recruiting an armada in some last ditch effort to survive and then – _blam_ – get blitzed, totally blindsided into extinction?

Or maybe there _were_ other people out there and only the people of this base had been…had gone missing. Were missing. So the robots hadn't tried to raid this place yet because they thought everything was gone already and they had other people to fight…yeah, that sort've made sense.

But then Cam set off the alarm and they could have supposed it was an accident or malfunction and sent some team out to explore it just in case, and then the robots had responded automatically, and then _more_ aliens had shown up-

The one thing though that really bothered Shane was this mythic piece of equipment that the aliens apparently _really_ wanted, that Cam wanted, that they put just about zero effort into defending. Or retrieving.

But if only humans could get it…

Their eyesight had to be good, Shane thought, because through the mayhem and destruction, the fires and the volleys of attacks flying in every direction, a few of those things had still seen them run. And who knew, maybe they had _awesome_ night vision; maybe their night vision was stronger than what they saw under the sun-

And if, just…_if_ they had seen them coming and wanted something only they could get (and had, to their knowledge, tried to get earlier) then why wouldn't they take the easiest way out?

_Ambush_, Shane thought, body immediately freezing up as the thought dawned on him; _they __**want**__ us to get it_.

And then, for the second time that day, before Shane could give any warning shouts at Cam to abort the mission, to leave the damn thing behind, the world above them exploded; the ceiling bursting apart in a fiery combustion that sent them sprawling to the ground.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-

* * *

Endnotes:

So…I think I'm good for awhile. And in the future if you're wondering what's taking me so long, _this is_. This business of never-ending chapters is what takes me so long. I had a lot of exposition to do and I had to make sure the pacing was right before I could be done with it, but I have to say I'm happy with the end result. Even if that end result is a cliffhanger. But hey, _exposition_.

Much thanks to jjjanimefan1, Rosa241, and ValkyrieNyght for reviewing last chapter! Feedback is always appreciated, and I'm glad you found this story interesting. I'll endeavor to keep that sentiment going as the plot develops :D

Other assorted notes on the chapter…

I know nothing of gardening. Seriously, I tried to plant a batch of boiled pumpkin seeds when I was a kid, so all of the plant-talk was outsourced to the internet.

If you would like to get a better idea of what the mechs look like, just type "Halo mantis" into Google image search. It'll get you a solid grasp of what I'm aiming for.

NOTES ON SCIENCE: I'm going to go ahead and claim right now that science is not my forte, and the business with the multiverse was me taking liberties with what I understood and what I decided it to be. If this offends you…well, it's fiction. I can't promise that science talk won't happen often, but I can say I'll at least _try_ to make it sound feasible. You know, relatively speaking.

For those of you wondering about Terra Venture and the GSA, this is a reference to Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. It was basically the setting for the majority of that season. Just a small shout out to my childhood. NASADA's from like, the first episode of Power Rangers In Space, and is less of a shout out to my childhood.

Until next time : )


	3. The Dust Has Only Just Begun To Fall

Chapter 3

The Dust Has Only Just Begun To Fall

Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence, adult language

Notes: Hints of Dustin/Cam

**READ THIS: **For all problems, worries, and concerns, I simply refer you to the beginning author's notes in Chapter 1.

So much thanks to my beta, the real vampire, for editing this chapter. I know this one was especially difficult due to length and content and I am ridiculously lucky to have someone as patient and thorough as her cheering in my corner. If you are interested in more Shane/Hunter angst, you should read her story "A Place Without Exception" because it is, for lack of better description, SO GOOD.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-

* * *

Shane's head was throbbing; a dull, merciless ache that encompassed his entire brain. He managed to feel a trickle of wetness trail down the side of his face despite that. It was the side that hadn't been scraped against the rough cement floor as some kind of living sponge, intent for cleaning and leaving nothing but fresh abrasions and a trail of blood.

_Cut_, he realized vaguely, the word dancing into his consciousness for a brief visit before flying away with the rest of his coherency, he must have cut something. Head wounds were the worst because they tended to bleed a lot and if they were unfortunately positioned they could bleed into your eyes, hindering your vision, always bad but-

It was going down the side of his face, not into his eye, so Shane figured that was good.

It was about the _only_ good thing he had going for him at the moment.

The room around him- the remains, he remembered now, the remains of the room around him were suffering from the fallout of an explosion. The air had ignited with this unrelenting heat, baking Shane's skin, causing sweat to pour off of his face as he attempted to regain his bearings, eyes adjusting to the world around him.

_Cam-_

_Hunter-_

He needed to find-

_Shit_, there was stuff on- debris, that was it; his lower half was buried underneath the twisted remains of some shelving units. He could still feel his legs though; there was no damage, no problems beside a slight hindrance. Or if there were, Shane would realize in a few seconds after he dragged his sorry hide out towards freedom. He grabbed at the ground in front of him, fingers slick with sweat and blood – he'd cut some of his fingers too, _damn_ – and pulled as hard as he could, heaving his body from his prison of broken metal and collapsed ceiling. It was- had been impossible, but he managed. Though the pounding in his skull was emulated throughout the rest of his body, his muscles protesting the movements (too much energy exerted that day, too many close calls), Shane managed it. Barely and painfully.

The air ninja was trying to grasp at the details, he knew them, had known them at some point, the events that had led him to this, but he couldn't place what they were. He wanted to stay in that spot, huddled on the ground until he regained his bearings and his body recovered, but something in his mind kept screaming he was on the verge of danger. He was on edge, confused at where the feeling came from, but he still found himself clinging to it. His instincts were there for a reason, and he sure as hell wasn't going to abandon them just because he was a little confused.

_Explosion._

The word came back to him sharply, like a spark burning away the remaining doubt until the preceding events came flooding back to Shane, the secret stealth mission, the equipment, the _trap_.

He had been right, but it had come to him too late to do any good. He would have to hate himself for that later because now he couldn't- Now was not the time. Shane needed to find Cam and Hunter and get them the hell out of there, forget the stupid piece of equipment and _move on._

"_Shane-_"

And with that one word, just his name, the majority of the tension that had settled in the red ranger's shoulders lessened itself; a feeling so sweet he almost fell into laughter. Shane managed to contain himself, through some miracle, and damn if the sight of Hunter Bradley hobbling towards him never looked better. The blond had a death hold on his rifle, as though he were transferring all of his frustration and anger into the weapon through grip alone, trying to keep himself focused on their wayward mission. The other teen looked about as bad off as Shane felt, and by the permanent frown set on his face Shane must be looking pretty rundown himself. Yet, they were still moving. They had to give themselves that much. They still had their weapons, they were still maneuverable, and the flood of alien beasts that were seeking them out in exchange for some mythic piece of equipment hadn't come flooding in just yet to bring an end to their unfortunately short ranger careers.

That had to count as something.

"There are ships now," Hunter spat, gesturing quickly to the exposed sky above them. "Other ones. I think they're with our robot pals. They're holding off the aliens for now."

"Speak of the goddamn cavalry," Shane muttered.

Instead of chiding him for the comment Hunter tiredly nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. "I'll take it. Now we just need to find Cam-"

"-and get out of here," Shane finished.

He wasn't sure why. It wasn't like where Hunter had been going with his statement was a mystery, or that letting him speak his piece would be the end of the world, it just- in the moment, it felt like the right thing to do. Like the mayhem of their idiotic plan somehow made them more in sync, even if that was the only logical kind of behavior that could result from such a situation.

But Shane said it anyway and Hunter nodded again anyway, still not looking annoyed, and Shane figured that his "in sync" proposal might actually have some merit.

"He was this way." Shane motioned towards the area he remembered Cam visiting before, frowning when he realized that the indicated space had been the most affected by the explosion.

Probably the intended target, he noted, stowing that fact away as his body moved forward on auto-pilot, mind racing as the implications of it settled on him. He and Hunter had been on the outskirts of the blast zone, only having to suffer through minor rubble, scrapes, and possible concussions. But if Cam was closer…He was on the second level, but Shane wasn't sure how much that would have aided the tech. Sure, the green ranger didn't have to worry about a catwalk or any weapons wracks falling on top of him but there was still a hefty amount of ceiling missing, and the fact he had been _right there_-

Shane barely noticed the cuts as he scraped his fingers raw against broken edges of ceiling, pulling himself up onto the massive avalanche of broken building pieces. He kept his eyes sharp and focused on Hunter's breathing beside him; taking what little comfort he could in the definite fact he had a teammate beside him and attempting to distract himself from the chimerical space battle waging war just above their heads. It didn't matter. It did- _it did_ – but in this exact second it didn't. In this second all that mattered was the fact that Hunter was beside him and Cam was somewhere in front of him, possibly injured.

That was Cam's favorite word today right? "Possibly"? Shane would use it when they did a mission debrief later, like how this was _"possibly"_ the most horrible plan they had ever come up with _ever_.

The two reds were climbing over a fallen ceiling beam, ducking habitually as a pair of ships blazed close overhead, when they finally came upon Cam. He was close to the side of the building, just as Shane had suspected and…for a second, Shane had to internally apologize for his distaste for Cam's 'possibilities'. As though, in some way, this would bring Shane forgiveness from the cosmos, or that his mockery, in turn, was what made this fate befall them.

He knew that wasn't the case. He knew it didn't make sense but to his credit, _nothing_ made sense.

But he was…he was wasting time. They were wasting time.

They'd found Cam.

Most of his body was buried underneath cement rubble from the bunker's ceiling, devouring him so that only his head and upper torso were exposed, nothing more. Frightening, that was- that was bad. That wasn't good. How were they supposed to get him out-?

"God damnit," Hunter cursed beside him. "_God damnit. __**God. Damnit.**__"_

Yeah. Yeah, it was- it was bad. Somehow worse by Hunter's lack of composure, like if by his level of steadfastness he managed to curse, then it was so much more horrible by their- by a normal person's- standards.

"It's okay," Shane muttered distractedly, eyeing the beams and wreckage closest to Cam, a dark kind of wetness pooling between the cracks of them, gasoline maybe-

"It's _not-_" Hunter bit the word out, then paused, inhaling heavily through his nose. "It's _not_ okay."

"Okay," Shane echoed, agreeing, not taking his eyes off of Cam. They needed to- they should be moving now, the ships wouldn't stay forever and they needed to see how badly Cam was hurt. If he didn't wake up soon they would have to carry him and they could manage it, they could, but they needed to-

He moved forward, knees scrapping against the broken rock beneath him, a small trickle of that liquid brushing against his skin as he tried to get a better look at Cam. He reached towards the green ranger's face, patting the side of it gently, swallowing back a gale of dust threatening to choke him, the ash and haze from the explosion still lingering around.

"Cam," he said, urging the buried teen to wake up. "Cam, we gotta go, we've got to-"

Shane was cut off when Hunter wrenched his arm away, grip surprisingly strong considering the hell they had just been through. There was something horribly unknown twisted in Hunter's expression, so close to his usual bouts of annoyance at Shane but somehow beyond that, with anger and sadness in it. Now that he looked, now that he could see, Shane noticed his eyes were red, probably irritated by the building particles floating through the air.

"Shane you-" The blond cut himself off with a shake of his head. Shane watched him, curiously, as the other teen focused on a working out a metallic kind of object that was buried among the rubble by Cam's side – the equipment, had to be – and then he was shoving it in Shane's direction with unceremonious care, eyes still fixed on Cam before him, leaving Shane to wonder at the small, metal, egg-like backpack nestled in his hands.

So this was what they were after, this was what they wanted.

Shane hoped. He prayed and hoped and _hoped_ that it was worth whatever injuries Cam had gotten, if they got out of this mess in one piece. It was a lucky break, for Cam, to have Hunter focusing on his extraction, didn't want Shane to get in the way, that figured-

"Hey," Shane said, eyebrows furrowing in confusion once he realized Hunter wasn't assessing the debris as he had thought. Instead the crimson ranger seemed to be digging around the tech's neck, fingers making spastic, rough movements as he tried to- as he reached for-

"_Hey_," Shane echoed, this time reaching forward to grab Hunter's wrist, stopping him before he could pull the samurai morpher from Cam's neck. "I know it doesn't work but you can't just-"

"You're an idiot," Hunter snarled, jerking his wrist from Shane's slackened grip. He removed the amulet with Shane still protesting, turning to face the air ninja with it cradled between his reddened palms. It was so…bizarrely careful and reverent, just the movement of it, that one brief gesture as he offered up this…Cam's gift. The gift from his mother. Hunter held it, poised there in a silent offering, fingers shaking from the respect of…from the…

"You need to put it back," Shane said.

Hunter ignored him and moved forward, settling the thing around Shane's neck despite his protests, despite the heat building behind his eyes and the growing wetness at his knees. Despite Cam lying there, still and unmoving; deathly pale, eyes half-open and unseeing, gazing off into a distant infinity that _wasn't_ unconsciousness, that wasn't a dream-

"_Oh my God,_" he whispered, words spilling out before he could stop them.

He didn't have- This couldn't be real. It _couldn't _be real-

"We need to go."

The very act of stifling the protest _"But Cam-"_ waiting on his tongue, hand already reaching out towards the tech habitually was so arduously difficult Shane was surprised he had managed it. Surprised he could physically restrain himself from not grabbing at the rubble around Cam, hefting stones left and right until his friend was free and they could go, because they couldn't, they couldn't _leave_ him. That's not what they did, they didn't _leave_ people-

But he did it. Shane swallowed the words down with a shudder as though they had stabbed at him, chocking all the way down until he had nothing left to say. And he didn't. He really didn't.

Hunter was dragging him down the pile of ruined building by the time Shane managed to…by the time he accepted Cam wasn't- he wasn't there. They somehow made it down in one piece, both on shaky legs, Shane still casting glances up towards the top of the smoldering mound, as though he were waiting for something to change; only stopping when Hunter began urging them forward. The thunder ninja moved them out of the pitiful remains of their warehouse and into the night, one hand firmly clasped around Shane's wrist and the other aiming a pistol in front of him - at some point he must have taken that from Shane, the rifle had too much recoil to use one-handed - and they ran.

They ran through more bodies, more smoking husks of destroyed mechs and the worse, biological carcasses of fallen aliens, broken and twisted at unnatural angles, swimming in their own putrid blood, dark and shiny, even when it was outside of their bodies-

The emptiness in his stomach was the only thing that kept Shane from vomiting, bile threatening to build in his throat regardless. His eyes were stinging as he averted them, focusing on the grip of Hunter's hand and the forest drawing closer as he tried to keep his legs moving, his lungs heaving with huge gasps of air as the evening descended into one big nightmare. A nightmare where they were two when they should be three. When the gentle weight bumping against Shane's chest and the smooth metal shell tucked underneath his arm stubbornly refused to let him accept otherwise, and even then it was a fight not to go back. To not to stay by Cam's side.

There was a movement to their left, a concept that was too foreign to Shane considering they _were_ on an active battlefield, and there, as though they had been waiting by the woods they had disappeared into earlier, was a whole squad of those aliens. A dozen of them, easy; tucked away from the rain of fire barraging their alien team-mates, waiting in the relatively safe capacity of ambush duty for the stupid humans to come out and give them their toy.

If Shane hadn't been so stuck in his own head, wading about in this perpetual state of weightless shock, he probably would have noticed that Hunter was limping earlier. That the determined gate Shane had been keeping up with had only felt speedy because of how distracted he was.

But Hunter was a trooper, a fighter, and adapted appropriately, darting off to the side and tugging Shane along as he had before, away from the aliens, skirting the edge of the forest while the monsters roared behind them, guns at the ready, attack imminent. On a good day, the ninjas could have outrun them. On a good day they could have tried to put up a fight. But this was, undoubtedly, about as far away from a good day as any of them got; Hunter's fierce hobble was losing their fight for distance and Shane was too exhausted to carry him and their own stupid guns were too foreign and too fucking _few_ to do any damn good.

But Shane wasn't- and he wouldn't, _would_ not just give them what they wanted. He wouldn't chuck the metal half-egg behind him and hope the bastards would just let him and Hunter limp away into the night. First of all because it probably wouldn't work, and secondly because this thing…this, whatever it was, it was theirs. It was Cam's so it was theirs and _they_, the aliens, did not _get_-

They didn't get to have what belonged to Cam. They had already taken too much. They weren't allowed more.

So Shane didn't think when he pulled his arm out of Hunter's grasp. He didn't think when he shoved Cam's equipment into the blond's arms and he didn't think when he yanked two of Hunter's possible-grenade-cylinders from the belt that was still looped across the crimson ranger's chest and fumbled with them, wasting precious seconds as he figured out how to make them work, and he didn't _think_ when he chucked them in the general direction of the alien patrol behind them.

He didn't think, he just _did_. And after that _he_ was the one grabbing Hunter's arm and hauling ass, pulling the other teen behind him as they threw themselves into the woods, stumbling over rocks and roots and _shit_- whatever the hell it was, it didn't _matter_- and running like their _goddamn_ lives were on the line because in this particular instance they were, they were and if they didn't run they were going to join-

There was a confirmation of the supposed-grenades being _definite-_grenades a few seconds later, when the world erupted behind them in an ear-shattering eruption and their faces met the ground once more, tumbling and rolling and _fire_- the woods closest to the clearing's edge were burning, smoldering in charred residue.

_Damn_, Shane's head. His body, his all-of-it, too many overwhelming stimuli attacking at once, yelling to be heard, but Shane pushed them away. As fast as the pain would allow him, Shane scoped out the effects of the blast, checking on the shape of their enemies. There weren't any more gun blasts, but that could just be for the moment, the aliens possibly dazed from a roll and tumble of their own.

But the only thing behind them were flaming trees and two fresh craters of scorched earth, sweltering tendrils wafting away, rising into the night.

The alien troop had been…irradiated. They were no more.

Shane and Hunter were as free as they were going to get.

Ignoring his body's protests, Shane hauled himself upright, knowing that another patrol of those things could show up at any moment. He helped Hunter off the ground after, the second blast doing little to help the crimson ranger's already injured ankle, and they stumbled off into the night, back towards their rock mound hideaway. They stayed silent when Shane pulled one of Hunter's arm across his shoulders, trying to keep weight off the injured ankle, and they said nothing when they moved on, the epitome of gracelessness and desperation, searching for an end. All they had to do was run. Just run, run, and escape; that was the mantra Shane held himself to. That was the one he repeated as his grip tightened against Hunter's waist. Just _run, run,_ _and escape_, and after that they would tackle the- the after. The things that needed to be done.

They made it back somehow. Perhaps the aliens had been cocky enough to think only one patrol would be needed, or maybe they were just really bad at communicating and didn't know their buddies were _dead_-

Shane put it from his mind and stayed grateful. Grateful to God or Buddha or whatever-the-hell-else was out there that guided wayward souls, because somehow they made it back in one piece. Relatively. He guessed would be the best way to phrase it. Cam would say they had made it back _relatively_ in one piece.

They stumbled back into their dark and littered hallway, on unsteady legs with heaving lungs and shaky, blood-soaked fingers, but they made it.

Something that now, Shane knew, was not always a guarantee.

The walk back to their base camp was silent, the attempts to grab great, gasping mouthfuls of air putting off whatever conversation they could have, if they were going to- they would, later. But not now.

Shane readjusted his hold on Hunter's arm as they hobbled forward, unsure why walking was becoming such a difficult task, when this drunken stagger became the only thing he could manage. Hadn't the run _out_ of the base been quick and graceful? Effortless? It felt like such a long time ago, weeks and months between the Shane-of-then and this new Shane, the one clinging to Hunter as though he needed the teen as much as the blond needed him for balance. Breathing was too much of a priority for the blond to complain about it and for that, Shane was grateful. He couldn't describe- could never hope to put into words how badly he needed Hunter to just _exist_, right there, with him. Not as another teammate standing, but as another witness to guarantee Shane's sanity.

That what they had seen…it had happened. No hallucinations, no illusions. It had happened.

It was undeniable.

When they made it back under the joined glow of flickering candles they collapsed against the wall, sliding down the seamless metal until they fell into piles on the floor, curled up on themselves. The room was still empty, just as they'd left it, the rest of the team still working away steadily at their assigned tasks. Shane wasn't sure how much of a relief that was. If it was better to put off the catastrophe that was to follow, or if they got it done-

He couldn't- he couldn't do this. He couldn't just- this _couldn't be __**happening**_ -

Shane had his knees drawn to his chest; his rifle laid across the top, for all the good it had done him.

He had felt so protected with it earlier, so proud of his findings. His contribution, his and Hunter's, they gave something that they could actually use. Something to give them a chance at defending themselves.

He supposed they would have, in the hands of someone else.

In a pique of fury and newfound strength Shane ripped the rifle's strap off his chest and tossed the useless thing to the side. Far enough to be out of reach but still mockingly in his eye line, glowing that soft, fanciful green Shane had once found soothing. Interesting, even.

Cam had too. Cam had-

Beside him, Hunter's gasps began dwindling off into a more natural kind of breathing, his lungs recovering from the sudden shock of- that…that was what. The equipment - the thing - this small, metal contraption that looked like some kind of reject-backpack was clutched against his chest almost naturally, his fingers white and shaking from how frighteningly tight Hunter was holding on to it. Probably not even realizing it. Brown smudges marked the spots nearest to his grip, dried or drying _blood_, so- it had to be though, it wasn't dirt. It looked like dirt, but it was- had to be blood.

The liquid on Shane's knees, the one pooling around Cam's body, the one-

Because he had assumed, he had thought they had found Cam. That after the explosion, they had found their teammate.

But they hadn't.

They had only found Cam's body.

Just that…_thought_, that very idea that had been plaguing Shane's nightmares as an extreme possibility, a finite and distant warning hanging over his head should he falter in leading his team- just the fact he was able to think that, to see it and perceive it and to not break, not shatter at that very moment meant his mind was still fighting this. That he wasn't- that he _couldn't_ grasp this. That maybe if he waited a few minutes it would change, because it shouldn't be possible.

Nightmares were supposed to stay hidden in the depths of your mind, attacking only when your worries and fears had built up too high in your subconscious. Nightmares were over-dramatizations, things you laughed at for being absurdly distanced from reality, making it so they could only exist in dreams. They _weren't_ supposed to happen.

Not _here_, not to _them_-

Worst case scenarios had naturally become a part of Shane's thought process when it came to considering strategy. Just pondering the worst that would happen if the team did _this_, the worst injuries they could get, the most damage they could do to their zords. Based on that he tried to choose his tactics appropriately, even if the _worst_…even if the most unfavorable options were the ones least likely to occur, he always tried to keep it in mind. He thought, in a way, it made him a better leader.

If it did or if it didn't, it didn't count for shit _now_ because the worst had actually happened, and a great deal of help he had been in preventing it.

Shane could smell it now, just like he was back in the warehouse, despite the overpowering stench of gasoline and burnt rubber, from where he didn't know, but the _smell_- It was coppery, coppery and metallic and _everywhere_, seeping through the cracks of building materials, staining the- _squishing_…

Shane played it back in his head, remembering how…normal it had been. Trapped in a stupidly dangerous situation, adrenaline and tension high, all the odds against them with nothing but some puny lasers, possible grenades, and the mind of a tech-genius working in their favor. So what if they got by an explosion? Those happened all the time. You couldn't mope over that, you couldn't – _mourn – _the things beyond your control. Like they had the many times before, they had gotten up, dusted themselves off, and reevaluated. Tried to regroup. It was normal. They didn't have powers, they didn't have their suits, but aside from that, this was business as usual.

But Hunter had…he had known the second he laid eyes on Cam. He had seen and instantly realized, instantly accepted what had happened, way before Shane's mind was anywhere close to-

He still wasn't. His mind still wanted to create plans for how to rescue Cam, when to go back, how they would do it, smarter this time, _better_ this time, but-

Hunter had seen and reacted. Had taken over because someone had to, and Shane remembered how Hunter had fought to pull Cam's morpher off of his neck, trying to exercise some kind of polite dignity in regards to the bo- to _Cam_, it was Cam, and he was so careful, had taken _such_ pain to be respectful, despite how weak and aching and pressed for time they had been, the aliens waiting to attack. He had tried to give him what little he could; Cam deserved that much. Cam _had_ deserved-

Not to go down bleeding in some place so far from home. Shane wondered how much of it was on him, how much of _Cam's_ blood would stain him brown and wondered how much it would matter either way. It could stand as proof of what they'd done, to commemorate who they'd…to commemorate Cam, but at the same time he wanted it gone.

That wasn't too much to ask for was it? That wasn't- This whole _damn_ thing-

How could this be it? How could this be happening? How could this- they- _this wasn't what happened_. This wasn't how Power Rangers operated. They won! They won and they fought and they worked hard and they _won_. They didn't get teleported places to -_die_- they didn't- they _don't -__**die**__-_

He wanted it gone. Gone like this nightmare, gone like this _stupid_, horrible mess he had led them into, like Shane himself had any kind of right to call himself a leader. Who the _fuck_ made a seventeen year old in charge of life-risking decisions? Who started that policy? Who in their _fucking __**mind**__-?_

"I don't-"

Shane glanced over to see Hunter slowly release his grip on the equipment, so painful and measured that he had to be thinking out every movement of every joint until his fingers were pried free, shaking in midair as they hovered open in front of his chest, examining the reddish-brown palms.

"At some point," Hunter started again, voice soft and almost…noncommittal. "You would think I'd get use to the smell. But I haven't."

"Your parents?" Shane asked, mouth moving of its own volition, digging into a conversation he had no right to be involved in. As if he had the kind of relationship with Hunter that made this okay.

But he couldn't- he hadn't thought, with the rest of it all, with the _rest of_- he didn't think. The words had come out on their own.

But Hunter replied anyway. Probably for the same reason Shane had asked.

"Yeah," he said, quietly.

There was nothing else, only a growing pitiful silence where they kept to their own thoughts, and Shane was struck by the utter horribleness of it all. The fact that Hunter was already familiar with this feeling of empty sadness, this grief; the shock and the images that brought it all on- it was horrible.

It was all so very, very horrible.

At first Shane thought it was the blood still pouring from his head wound; just that slow, persistent dribble traveling down the side of his face. He focused on it and on the pulsing aches and bruises littering his body. Everything hurt; it _all_ hurt. The throbbing in his head wasn't new, so it surprised him, a few seconds later, when he realized that he was crying; slow, fat tears making their way down his cheeks and his eyes felt so hot, his face so-

It was just one more thing, on top of all the other things, it wasn't- he shouldn't be worried. His throat was choked up and that was natural for this, and his head stung and his eyes stung and it all, it _all_-

He buried his face into Hunter's shoulder without thinking about it; he was closest, he was there and by obligation of being the closest warm body he got to deal with Shane slowly falling apart, taking what he could from the warmth of another being and breaking, _broken_, because of _Cam_.

Cam. Cam was gone, Cam wasn't here, Cam should _be_ here but he wasn't, he wasn't, Cam was _gone._

Cam was gone, and what for?

What could they have _possibly_ gained?

The hand Hunter kneaded through his hair made Shane feel guilty enough to sob; who was he to take this, to demand _this_? He didn't deserve this from anyone, least of all Hunter. But he was there, the older Bradley, massaging the back of his skull in a way so familiarly comforting that he must have practiced it a million times on a worn and despairing Blake. He gave the comfort without having to be asked and Shane took it like the greedy bastard he was because he needed it so badly, so disbelieving in the vacant spot beside him, the familiar face that had always been promised as permanent, as invincible to the worst.

"Shane."

After a certain amount of minutes the fingers began to tug at the back of his neck, twisting small tendrils of hair between them to capture Shane's attention.

"_Shane_," Hunter echoed again, voice cracking. That was actually what got Shane to pull his head away, not the persistent tugging, just- the way he had asked.

When he was settled back against the wall he looked at Hunter and saw the wetness in his eyes, the stinging redness of threatening tears that the thunder ranger held in check through pure force of will.

He was mourning too; Hunter had liked Cam. But he had known, knew better than Shane, how precarious their lives had been in the world's balance. How easily someone could not be there the next day. Hunter knew the bite of –_death-_ better than Shane did, and he had probably prepared himself accordingly, because he was Hunter _goddamn_ Bradley, and that was the kind of shit you did when you became an orphan at age twelve. You prepared yourself.

"We need to get ready for the others. They'll have questions that we…" he trailed off with a shrug, allowing the small movement to finish his statement, but Shane couldn't quite bring himself to let it go.

Maybe it was a punishment or maybe he was forcing this connection with Hunter, but either way Shane continued, pressing the back of his palm against his eyes. "We have to answer. Right. We need to-"

"Shane." Hunter's eyes were tired, tired and knowing and painful and it was- they were honestly and unquestionably equals in this, that much was evident. "We can mourn later," he promised. "But right now we have to keep it together. Just-" he grasped Shane's arm with a bloody palm and beyond the intended comfort Shane could almost feel the dry texture of it, flaky and wrong. "Just keep it together _now_. Later we can…"

He bit off his words with a swallow, nodding to himself as though confirming his message was received.

Tragedy and melodrama, that's what it was, Hunter knowing this, he had _done_ this, and Shane-

As much as he had wanted the other teen to level with him, ranger-to-ranger, he never wanted it to come like this. For this to be the necessary step to make it happen.

Just-

Fucking _fuck-_

"Dudes, there are like, so many Russian army clothes in here. We are good for at _least_ a month-"

The sight of Dustin, cheerful and optimistic had Shane forcing himself to keep a neutral expression.

The yellow ranger was simply picking up where they had left off, revealing how drastically far Shane was from that mental place, that happy, worn-and-worried but still latching onto this sliver of confidence, because they had some facts. They knew some things. They had a base that was hidden and safe, that was supplied and they were all together in a place that was about as close to home as they had gotten on this trip.

It was a better emotional state to be in, not unreasonable.

Shane briefly wondered how long it would take Dustin to get back there, after he learned the news.

The curly-haired teen paused at the threshold of the locker room, hand still griping the half-open door, blinking rapidly as he took in the sight of Shane and Hunter collapsed against the far wall, his brain not comprehending the signals his eyes kept sending.

But as time drew on nothing changed. His abrupt silence seemed to have attracted Blake; the younger Bradley sidling up behind him quietly, peaking over the teen's shoulder with curious eyes, wondering what shenanigans the others could have gotten into while he was stuck ransacking lockers.

Blake did not hesitate, and Dustin's understanding seemed to time out at the same moment because they moved as one, striding across the room in hurried motions. Dustin jerked to a halt in front of Shane, fumbling into a half-crouch as he stared at the air ninja wide-eyed, raking his gaze over Shane's bruised body, radiating worry and fear. Blake faired slightly better, managing to keep a straight face while he made a mental tally of Hunter's wounds, shoulders pinched and tight as he continued his work. For now Hunter's boots concealed his ankle's swelling, which was the only reason Blake wasn't biting out demands to know what had happened. Shane knew that would have been the snapping point, that would have been the one thing too many that ended with a Bradley interrogation but for now, they had something. Hunter and Shane still had some reasonable control. It wasn't a lot; they'd probably lose it soon, which was why it was all the more important for them to…

To tell them. What had happened.

"Are you cut?" Dustin was babbling, hands skimming over the top of Shane's knees while he looked for some imaginary hurt. Shane hadn't seen earlier but the blood- the…_amount_ had been greater than he'd assumed. The gasoline he'd thought he'd- but it wasn't, it had been blood and his legs were coated in it, from the hem of his shorts to the tops of his tennis shoes, all covered in dried and drying blood with Dustin perched above, staring at it with a frantic expression, words tumbling on top of one another as he fought to make a coherent sentence.

"_Shit_ Shane," Blake whispered when he found a second to spare from Hunter, grimacing at the sheer amount of it. "What happened? How badly are you-?"

"It's not mine," were the first words Shane thought of. While true, they probably weren't the best choice.

Blake immediately stilled; one hand still on Hunter's shoulder as he stared Shane down, eyebrows furrowed in a state of incomprehension. Dustin, on the other hand, relaxed with a sigh, rocking back on his heels and running a distracted hand through his hair, as though they had dodged a bullet.

But Blake knew better. He realized, or at least recognized, that the two reds were not totally composed and additionally, and even more painful and glaring, the lack of green ranger gracing the room.

The blood was not Shane's. And Blake would know, as he had just given his brother the most thorough visual examination that could ever be given, that the blond had no wounds drastic enough to produce that amount of blood. The blood was not Hunter's.

It was just one look. One shared between two brothers who had a language all their own, one Shane had to watch in his peripherals as he tried to keep Dustin distracted for a few more precious seconds, wanting his friend- his friend who had already been through so much – to have what happiness he could, for just a little bit longer.

There was a slow inhale from Blake as he drew himself up, straightening his back out until he was at full height, and his eyes were…they were Hunter's. Sad and understanding and prepared. Prepared for the…emotional fallout that was to come, knowing someone had to be a rock to lean on.

A necessary role. Someone had to keep it together.

He stood back and waited, waited for Dustin to see it too.

"That was, undoubtedly, the best almost-bath I have ever had. I'm serious, though my opinion may be a little skewed after ten days of…"

Tori's eyes peaked out from under the towel draped across her head, hands busy with the task of drying out her hair. She looked good, better than the rest of them in clean clothes and a grime-free face, eyes glowing from that small yet vital session with her element. Even if she couldn't feel it, there was still a sense of comfort there. It was a psychological thing.

Her feet were bare against the floor, somehow appearing infinitely more delicate in the pale glow of the candlelight, fragile and human against the harsh metal flooring.

Shane wasn't sure why he noted it, except that he did.

"What's going on?" she asked, dropping the towel until it rested atop her shoulders, playful tone abandoned as she recognized the air of seriousness permeating the room. "Did something happen? What's with the-" She froze, eyes widening as she caught sight of Shane's leg.

Thankfully Dustin was the one to step in, waving her off before she could dash to the leader's side too.

"It's not his," the yellow ranger replied, sounding so choked and grateful Shane wanted to punch himself. "No wounds, it's just-"

"Then what _happened_?" She was pleading, but Shane could also see her getting angry. She had missed out on something important, something key and she didn't like it, didn't like the feel of the room, the sudden change in the wind. Her mouth set in a frown, jaw working like she had to hold back a few choice words as she contemplated, considering her next move.

Her eyes wandered out of a need to calm herself, to avoid the pow-wow over by the door, and it was then that Shane knew they were lost.

Because her gaze halted on the couch, on the site of Cam's familiar notepad, the one she and him had bonded over, had viewed as vitally important, and she realized that something was amuck.

Shane could only hope that the hurried note Cam had scribbled wouldn't instigate a flurry of rage.

But knowing Cam…

It probably would. He could be a little blunt sometimes.

He…_had_ been, a little-

"What's this?" she asked, striding over to the couch, a woman on a mission, and snatched the notebook up, flipping through Cam's pages. She mouthed the words as she read along, as though to better understand it, like perhaps if she spoke it to herself she could be in the same mental place Cam had been, and by the end of it her fingers were holding onto the paper so tightly Shane was surprised she hadn't ripped it in two.

When her head whipped back in their direction her eyes were flashing, wrath, pure and simple, and a little betrayal, etched into her features.

"_Off to retrieve the equipment_," she spat, reading out the words for Dustin and Blake's benefit. "_You'll only get in the way, just be patient and stay saf_e! What the hell is that about?!"

In her fury she somehow maintained the same grace and poise she carried with her naturally, gliding forward to properly glare Shane and Hunter down. "You left to get the-"

Her eyes caught sight of it resting in Hunter's lap, the thing, but she only graced it with a cursory glance before her focus was back on them, taking in the blood and the injuries. It took her a few seconds, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stared at their red and watered eyes, gaze flickering between the two of them and she slowly pieced the puzzle together.

It was obvious when she realized it, awareness striking her like a physical blow, forcing her half a step back as her body locked up, shocked, confused, still deliberating.

"Where's Cam?" she whispered, and it was clear it came out softer than she had intended. "Where's _Cam_?"

Dustin, who had been huddling against Shane's knees, blood be damned, straightened up at the question, realizing that his favorite teammate was, in fact, absent, and for some odd reason continued to be. When they didn't immediately answer the brunette tensed up, eyes slowly turning to focus on Shane, begging for enlightenment.

The…how Shane didn't break down then and there remained a mystery; maybe it was the urgency in Dustin's eyes, how desperately he needed guidance, and Hunter's words echoing unfathomably loud in the back of his skull. Keep it together now, cry later. Cry later even if it seems impossible because it can't just- he couldn't- if he started now he wouldn't be able to stop and they had to get through this. They _had_ to.

"Did they take him?" Dustin asked, hold moving from Shane's knees to his shoulders, expression frantic. "Was he captured? Did the aliens-?"

"No."

His gaze snapped to Hunter, eyes widening for a split second before he reconsidered, relieved again, because if Cam wasn't captured maybe he had just stayed behind right? In the hallway? Doing Cam-like things that Cam did and everything was fine and they were fine so no one needed to be sad.

The denial was shattered a second later by a righteous Tori, fists tense against her sides and quivering, all of her vibrating with a swell of emotion, eyes beginning to water.

Dustin looked at her, confused. "Tori, what-?"

"They killed him," she choked out, tears pouring down her face as she stared at them, willing any of them to defy her. "He's gone isn't he? He's-"

"_Don't_, just- don't _say that_!" Dustin jumped to his feet, hands offered out from his body as he tried to soothe the water ninja, voice wavering as he approached her, so uncollected, so not-Tori. "Don't say that, he's not- that can't-" He stopped with a frantic shake of the head, trying to clear his mind out and search for the appropriate words. "I mean, it can, but it doesn't, it _won't-_"

"_Dustin_-"

"Cam's dead."

The words froze them, Dustin holding onto Tori like a lifeline, the blonde rigid in his grasp as they stared, eyes fixed on Hunter, one shocked and the other sorrowful, taking in what he had said.

"There was an explosion," Hunter continued, as calm as his mission debriefings usually were. "He was on the catwalk above us, trying to gain access to…" He motioned to the metal shell resting in his lap, allowing it to speak for itself, and moved on. "And then there was an explosion, on the roof, right next to him. Best I can tell it was…instantaneous, a ceiling beam had…well." He gestured to Shane's knees with an ugly, brown palm, and Shane could feel his stomach heaving, realizing…

He hadn't seen…it would explain the –_blood_-; Cam hadn't just been crushed, he had to have been im-_pale_-d.

"There wasn't anything we could have done," Hunter finished, hand flopping back into his lap lifelessly, gaze unfocused and staring off into some distance beyond them being the only crutch he used to get through it.

A horrible lie, so _fucking_ untrue that Shane wanted to cringe. They could've done something; they _could've_ been smart and he _could've_ trusted his stupid gut and aborted this suicide mission before it began. He should have put his foot down, he should have thought it out, he should have fought through the adrenaline and the relief and the weariness and not _waited_ until they were sitting in the enemies hands until he actually put some goddamn _thought_ into the flimsy logic that had sent them on their goose chase.

He should've trusted _himself_ over Cam; he was the leader. He was the one who should have _realized_ that Cam's want for technology was too unusual, that it would have been better to wait, or set up a distraction team or-

There wasn't anything they could have done. Then.

By the time they were climbing up that hill, pathetic and wrecked and shaken yes, there was nothing anyone could have done.

Cam was long gone by then.

And there was nothing any of them could do about that _now_.

"N…n-no…"

The voice was so heartbroken and choked that Shane didn't dare look upon it, didn't dare see how much Dustin was falling apart, and only his sense of duty, as a friend and teammate, gave him the strength to bear witness to the brunette's cry.

"You're not-" Dustin continued, head shaking steadily as tears leaked down his face, arms wrapped around himself unconsciously as he tried to seek out comfort. "That's not- you can't be right. That's _not_ right. Cam wouldn't-" He swallowed, and finally his eyes tore from the floor, darting between all of them quickly, searching for verification. "Cam wouldn't die, he's _Cam_. Cam won't- he _wouldn't_; can't you see that? He's the best out of all of us so he _can't-_" he spun around, desperate, looking for someone to back his claim and visibly shaking when he realized that none of them were going to. "He's the _best_," Dustin echoed, tinge of hysterics in his voice. "He's the smartest and he's trained the longest and if anyone was going to- it wouldn't be _him_, it wouldn't be! Stop it!" he shouted, Tori and Shane flinching away from the sudden bellow, Hunter and Blake, the red ranger noted, watching on with resigned pity.

"You're wrong!" Dustin continued. "You're wrong Hunter; he wouldn't- He can't…"

Dustin trailed off and almost collapsed in on himself, chin resting against his chest as he curled himself into the smallest shape he could manage, openly weeping. "He _**can't**_…"

His gaze dropped, traveling across the floor until they land on Shane's legs, as though they were their indisputable proof, and he shuddered, sobs wracking through his body. "_He_ _can't_," Dustin echoed, choking out the words.

He left them with that argument, retreating into the locker room, stumbling.

Shane rose to follow after him automatically, almost got to moving until Blake's hand pressed against his chest, halting him.

"The blood Shane," he whispered, nodding down as though the red ranger could have _possibly_ forgotten what the fuck he was referring to. Unaware of his anger, Blake continued. "You should probably wash up first. I'll take care of him."

"Here." Shane grabbed at the younger Bradley's shoulder before he was out of range, suddenly possessed by a new mission. Blake's quizzical expression changed to one of understanding once he noticed the green samurai amulet around Shane's neck, and accepted it with a solemn nod, knowing without Shane having to say who it was intended for.

If there was anyone it would bring comfort to, bring even the _slightest_ amount of closure, it would be Dustin.

"I can't believe…" Tori shook her head, face contorted in a broken frown, taking in a shuddered breath. "He's really dead, isn't he?"

"I'm sorry," Shane offered, the only thing he really had left, as _nothing_ as it was.

Tori sobbed, wrapping her arms across her torso protectively and said nothing, slowly retreating into the locker-room after the other two rangers, not once glancing behind.

"I'm sorry," Shane repeated, sound swallowed up in the dark corners of the room. The effort was as meaningless as the words were, but he had to say them.

Because maybe if he said them enough times the rest of world would understand his remorse and relieve that weight from his shoulders, whether it was justified or not.

From the corner of his eye he saw Hunter lever himself into the standing position, stumbling only once when he leaned too much of his weight on his injured ankle.

"We should get cleaned up," was what he said out loud.

What Shane heard was, _"It's okay to cry now."_

For the sake of compromising, he did both; tears rolling down his cheeks as he offered an arm out to Hunter, leading the other teen towards the impromptu bathroom in silence.

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

The tiny, dying optimistic part of Shane's brain was grateful for the emotional fog that descended upon him afterwards. It made a process that would have been uncomfortable something he could manage, too out of it to register Hunter pitifully wiping the caked on layers of dirt and sweat away just on the other side of the not-so-big room, managing the best he could with a washcloth that had never done him any harm and a small bucket, to conserve water. Shane should mind more that the process was drawn out and slow and made all the more worse by lack of clothing, by lack of privacy, but at the moment he was simply glad for Hunter's movement. Trivial things like modesty were nothing in comparison to just- having him, there. At least that way Shane knew he was breathing.

Tori had, in her wisdom, left her bag stuffed with clothes behind her, so by the time Shane and Hunter finished up they could abandon their old stuff in the corner with Tori's and dress themselves in things a little less…explosion-ed, rough and dusty though it may be.

By the time they make it back into the main room it was still empty; the once welcoming, even relief-bearing atmosphere sucked dry into a static emptiness, a shell of its previous self.

A stupid thing to note though, nothing had changed.

Aimlessly, Shane wandered over to the couch and settled down, ignoring the spot Cam had inhabited earlier, ignoring the exponential traces the tech had left behind, and focused on breathing. Hunter sat beside him, the equipment still dutifully in his care and resting in his lap, just as it had earlier. They were just…sitting on a couch, just like they had many times.

"This is really happening, isn't it?"

The question sounded just as pathetic out loud as it had in his head, but Shane asked it anyway. Mostly, because it was all he had to say, it was the only conversation starter he had right now, and he desperately needed to hear something other than silence. Something that would nullify the berating words echoing in his head.

"It's not your fault Shane."

"Then _whose-?_" Shane cut off his words with a bitter grimace, turning towards Hunter as he felt that familiar heat build back up behind his eyes. "Whose _is it_, Hunter? Because I sure as shit remember Sensei saying _I_-"

He choked on that, stuttering to a halt as he realized Sensei, Cam's _father_ was- he would have to _tell_ Sensei what had happened, at some point.

If they made it home. If they were that lucky.

"…_I'm_ the leader," Shane croaked, never in his entire life ever feeling less so.

It should have been embarrassing when Hunter pulled him into a hug, resting Shane's head against his shoulder and keeping one, protective arm wrapped around his back. Pitiful, it was just, _pitiful_- but Shane didn't possess the pride to feel it, had none of it left.

No wonder Hunter had thought so little of him, of all of them. Here Shane couldn't even lead a salvage op without getting someone _–killed- _and Hunter was supposed to follow along with his ideas? Seriously? Who had Shane been kidding? This was a possibility from the start, with Shane in command. Hunter's discontent had been nothing but justified.

"It's not your fault," Hunter echoed, voice shaky. "You didn't do this; they did."

"I'm supposed to veto bad plans," Shane argued stubbornly, because he was, he _was,_ even though a majority of the bad plans came from _him_ and not Cam; that was his job-

"I thought it was a good idea too," came Hunter's quiet rebuttal. "So did Cam. You couldn't have known."

"And that's supposed to be it?" Shane couldn't let it end like that, even if it was inevitable. "Just, aliens did it and move on, easy as that?"

"You're always going to feel like shit Shane."

The certainty with which he said it was enough to wrack a shudder through the air ninja.

"Trust me," Hunter continued, steady enough despite the slight waver. "I can speak from experience, you will always feel bad. But if you focus on it…" The grip on Shane's arm tightened in a painful way, but he was grateful for it, glad for the distraction, for the confirmation he could _feel_. "If the only thing you do is grieve? They win, okay? You never get anything done and they win."

This conversation, Shane realized, was actually more personal than the shared cleaning time before; Hunter baring a piece of his mindset before Shane, his coping method, the one he must have gained from losing his parents.

Hunter was sharing from experience.

"So feel like shit," Hunter continued. "Feel bad, but use it, okay? Use it for something. Because otherwise you're just going to be very bitter and very angry and have very little to do about it, got it?"

"Use it," Shane echoed, nodding against Hunter's chest, and the nails must be biting into his skin but he doesn't care, he could take it, in exchange for Hunter giving this.

"Exactly." Hunter was shaking, quivering from unshed tears, reliving past memories. "Take it and shove it in the back of your mind so you can function, but remember it's there. Remember it so that when you need it? When you need that anger and that bitterness to numb you for the hard things? It's there, waiting."

Shane could feel the warm breath ghosting over his head; a gradual sigh that released most of the tension in Hunter's body and in some way, Shane couldn't help but be glad that Hunter was released of that one burden. Even if…no, no more of that. If he continued like that Shane would be missing the entire point.

"Is that how you-?"

"_Yes_."

And after that they fell into silence, one coping mechanism shared between the two of them, reaching out towards survival, huddled on some couch so far away from home and so _stupidly_ detached from everything they knew.

Push it away. Take a moment to mourn and then push it away so he could move on. So he could lead.

Because someone had to, for Dustin and Tori, and Hunter knew it couldn't be him.

So Shane did that. He stayed, leaning against Hunter, and made himself learn how to function, processing what had happened and considering what needed to be done next.

He liked to think that if Cam were present, he would have appreciated the effort.

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-:-:-:-:-

Shane must have fallen asleep at some point during his mental re-evaluation because when his eyes pried open the rest of the team had returned to the main room. Blake had managed to corner his brother on the couch; the blond having kept his position beside Shane. The younger Bradley was doing his best to convey both frustration and comfort all in one hard stare, delivered periodically when he took a break from wrapping Hunter's ankle. The sprain; he must have found out about it, but with the given circumstances the navy ranger was feeling generous enough to abstain from doling out lectures, settling for his irritated glares instead. It was loving for the most part, at least tolerable for Hunter who accepted the attention without complaint, fingers trailing along the top of Cam's equipment, still nestled in his lap.

Beyond them, Dustin was huddled on the loveseat, gaze fixed towards the door, dressed in faded military fatigues with his curls damp and plastered against his head, scrubbed clean. One hand fiddled around the edge of his collar, rolling something between his fingers, and his knees were drawn up to his chest, taking up as least space as possible. For comfort, probably. Despite the occasional comments traded between Hunter and Blake, quiet barbs and gentle nudges, his eyes stayed resolutely on the doorway.

Shane would bet anything it was because Dustin was still waiting for Cam to come waltzing through that opening, still disbelieving, still hopeful, but knew ultimately he couldn't. He wanted to cling to the delusion that Dustin wasn't going to get trapped in this.

Though perhaps that was too quick a judgment; it had only been…hours, maybe? Had it even been that?

Shane didn't want to think about it and desperately moved on, shaking his head. There was one teammate still unaccounted for, so where was…?

"Stop moving," Tori warned, voice quiet, and it was then Shane felt it, a delicate touch against his forehead, where he had been wounded earlier. "I need to clean this out."

Obediently, Shane held still, but allowed his eyes to travel, taking in Tori's expression. She was focused, intent on her task and competent in her efforts, as she usually was, but beneath that Shane could see she was tense, eyes swollen and red from past tears. She was holding it together because they had to right now, but she wasn't happy about it. Her entire disposition radiated silent anger. Dustin would be the only one to miss it, which was probably the point, because Dustin wasn't in any state to deal with it now anyway and it wasn't like the earth ninja was the one Tori was mad at.

That was all Shane.

"Tori-" Shane tried, attempting to explain himself, his support, how he hated himself too, but she cut him off with the shake of a head.

"I brought shoes back for you too," she continued blithely, talking over him. "You should grab some, after I finish cleaning this up. Never know when you're going to need to leave."

It hurt, a quick blow to Shane's guilt, and he inhaled quickly, trying to calm himself while he could.

He opened his mouth to argue, to clarify, but Hunter beat him to the chase.

"Stop that," Hunter warned, tone quiet and conversational. "We're not doing that now."

"Oh, we're not?" Tori asked, eyes screaming defiance, her control slipping as her grip on Shane's shoulder got uncomfortably tight. It was Hunter's fault too, Shane realized, so he was just as susceptible to blame as Shane was.

More, perhaps, if Tori considered him of greater rationality.

"No." Hunter's words were delivered coolly, definite and firm. Instead of elaborating he simply turned and nodded thoughtfully in Dustin's direction, the other teen still ignoring them, focused on the doorway.

The simple act was enough to suck the entire fight out of Tori; she visibly deflated, shoulders sagging and grip going loose, staring over at the isolated earth ninja with utter sorrow in her eyes.

Now that she was in a calmer, more reasonable state of mind, Hunter continued, looking between her and Shane. "We're not doing this now. Maybe not ever. It's not going to help us. Right now we need every advantage we can get. If we allow them to get us fighting, to break us apart-"

"Then more of us will die."

Even Hunter looked shocked at the interruption, mouth hanging open as though he didn't quite believe someone else had spoken. He managed to hide it though, masking his surprise with composed interest as he looked over to Dustin who still, despite his interjection, kept his eyes away from them, hand still worrying at the collar of his shirt.

On further inspection, Shane could see in the glints of candlelight it was the Samurai amulet he had held between his fingers, latched on like a lifeline.

"I still can't believe…" He shook his head and turned towards them, tired and defeated, gnawing at his bottom lip in a poor attempt to gather himself. "But it's really happening, isn't it?" he asked, looking between them. "Cam's really _not-_"

He couldn't quite make it, wasn't mentally prepared enough to get the word out and he choked on it instead, tucking his chin against his chest until he could compose himself. They didn't press him, waiting until he had taken a few slow, prolonged breaths, simply waiting for him to continue his piece because they knew, or at least, Tori and Shane knew, that Dustin wasn't done yet.

When he looked back up at them his eyes were watery, but damned if they were resolute as hell, swallowing his tears down as he stared at each of them, with purpose.

"And if that's _true_," he continued. "Then we've got to decide what to do next. What to do to make…_that_ worth it."

He held onto it for just a few seconds longer, letting them know there was no room for argument. As soon as he felt this was communicated he seemed to crumble again, resting his forehead against his knees with a quiet snuffle. Tori looked torn, glancing between Shane and Dustin, and the air ninja waved her on, relieving her of the small alcohol wipe and taking care of his wound himself. It was all the encouragement Tori needed before she launched herself to Dustin's side, wrapping her arms around the quietly crying teen. Trying to console the inconsolable.

An impossible task, but if anyone were capable of it, if anyone would _try_, it would be Tori.

"Gimme that."

It was all the warning Shane got before Hunter's fingers tangled with his, taking control of the head-cleaning operation with a quiet humph.

"Wha-?"

"You can't even see what you're doing," Hunter continued, tone somewhat akin to that special kind of reproach he reserved for Blake alone, -Cam- on rare occasions, an attempted lecture that failed to hide any kind of fondness.

It was…something. This was something.

Generosity though, that was what it was. Hunter allowing him this kindness out of pity, because Shane was _this_ close to breaking and he needed it.

_God_, he didn't know what they would do if they lost Hunter. If Hunter _died_-

Shane didn't want to think about it; the very thought making his stomach threaten immediate and humiliating expulsion, because as much as he hated it, or maybe _would_ have hated it before, they desperately needed Hunter.

So…no more that. None of that. He was done now.

"That's rich coming from Mr. '_Tries to wrap his own leg when no one's looking_."

"You were busy," Hunter countered, coolly deflecting his brother's jibe as he kept focused on cleaning out Shane's cut, all three of them consciously ignoring the consolation happening on the loveseat.

"Sure I was Hunter." Blake gave up any of his lectures for tired resignment, pulling the bandages around Hunter's ankle just a little _too_ tight instead. "Sure I was."

"Hey, uh…enough of…" Dustin tilted his head up, peaking over the tops of his knees as he studied them with bleary eyes. "I mean, not to…interrupt because you guys deserve-"

"It's okay Dustin," Blake said, sounding…not pitying, but supportive.

Because they were a team, and that's what they needed right now.

The brunette considered them for a second, making sure his interruption wasn't intruding on something they needed, their little Bradley-bicker time, and nodded, unconsciously leaning into Tori's side, her arm trailing across his shoulders.

"Well I, uh…" he trailed off as his throat caught, phlegm stubbornly refusing to leave, and he cleared it quickly, eyes cast to the side, embarrassed by his sudden outbreak. "I mean, if he's…you know, then what exactly did you guys get?"

Which was…kind've a good question.

And one Shane and Hunter hadn't bothered to consider, given the rather miserable news they had carried back with them.

Dustin continued, staring at them earnestly, fingers restless against the tops of his knees. "What was it Cam was looking for?"

Shane, in that horrible, drawn out second of silence, felt like the most terrible leader all over again because he could not, for the life of him, give Dustin an answer. He had no idea. The thing was, to the average, non-intellectually gifted person's eye just sort of this metal…half egg thing, almost like a turtle shell, about the size of a small backpack. There were these sort of latch looking things on the areas Shane would be most comfortable labeling "corners", even though it was rounded, the top and bottom right and left of the egg, which made it appear as though it could latch onto something. That was probably what made Shane's mind label it a backpack, because that was its inferred purpose.

But a futuristic backpack was in no _fucking_ way worth dying for. There had to be more to it.

The air ninja watched as Hunter carefully inspected the thing, running his fingers across its smooth, seamless surface. By weight and heft the thing had to be filled, but whatever was inside must have been fixed into position because whenever it moved there was no sounds of inner-shifting, no feel of loose items rumbling about. It was packed tight or soldered down, making Shane wonder if this thing they had strived for, this piece the aliens so desperately wanted, if it was equipment at all, or merely some high-tech containment device for keeping things safe. A safe within a safe, one only humans could get to.

Hunter gripped each side and leveled the thing up to his face, inspecting the flat side intensely, looking for a break in the paneling, or whatever the hell it was called. Something so he could get inside.

"We may," Hunter began, frowning as his studies continued to reveal nothing. "Or may not, be entirely sure exactly _what-_"

He winked.

It hadn't been intentional. Hunter hadn't meant to engage in the action either; it had merely been a coincidence of wanting to get a better look at one specific area of the equipment. It was kind've…dumb, that little mental attitude that convinced you losing vision in one eye somehow increased the precision of the other, it _was_ dumb but Shane knew they all did it, just like Hunter did it, because he was a thorough individual, and even the theory that a thing might not work was no reason not to give it a try, especially if the cost was next to nothing.

So Hunter winked. And then things changed.

Shane understood why the blond did it, because Shane had seen it too. The section that had been under Hunter's inspection, the one Shane had noticed, seemed…slightly different than the rest of the equipment. It almost looked like a trick of the light, or the result of tired eyes and too many hours in action, but there had been this one spot that looked _almost_ like a seam. Like a crack. Shane had assumed he was seeing things, thought maybe it was a shared delusion when Hunter went to investigate it as well, but then he was very quickly, and very thoroughly, proven wrong.

It was a seam.

The metal seemed to react to Hunter - how, the air ninja would never know - and the moment the crimson ranger drew his eye close enough the hidden seam pulled apart, first down and then a second panel underneath it sliding outwards, revealing a tiny, inset rectangle, almost like the viewfinder of a camera.

Both Shane and Blake had an hand on Hunter's shoulders as soon as their reactions would allow; Blake going so far as to grab a hand at the equipment, preparing to wretch it away (_please, __**please**__, they didn't need more tragedies today, __**please-**_) but Hunter held still, posed as a perfect statue as a slow line of light traveled across his face.

Were Shane to describe it as best he could, he would say it almost looked like it was…scanning him.

No, it was more focused than that. It was scanning Hunter's _eye_.

For what though? For…humanity? Was that they key to get it open, did the aliens just need an _eye_-?

"Verify: unknown human," a voice, quiet and precise, emanated from the device. "Initiate startup sequence?"

"Sure," Hunter replied, pulling away from the device in one smooth movement, resting the thing back onto his lap with a level of calmness one should not posses when initiating conversations with foreign devices of unknown technological advancement.

Blake cocked his head to the side, considering the equipment with narrowed eyes. "Did it just…?"

"Quiet," Hunter ordered, gaining a greatly put-upon eye roll from his brother. "It's initiating a startup sequence."

"Yeah but…" Shane almost stopped when Hunter threw an irritated look his way, but decided his point was worth mentioning. "…couldn't that be, you know, _bad_?"

Hunter deliberated this, eyes looking up at the ceiling as though they could contain the answers he was looking for. "Possibly," he admitted. "I suppose I should…"

Further conversation was cut off by a new rearrangement of panels, the eye-scanning thing stealing away from back whence it came in favor of utilizing the other side of the egg-device, the rounded hump. Hunter flipped it in his lap to allow them a better view of it, expression going from thoughtful to impressed as a bigger recess was revealed, a small, circular platform near the "top" part of the backpack, where it would be closest to a person's head. It almost looked, in a way, like the holo-projectors Cam had created for Cyber Cam's usage, allowing the program to create a physical manifestation…

It was with that thought in mind that kept Shane from being surprised at the small, humanoid body appearing in a flash of green light. Maybe six inches tall, the thing, clearly based on a human body, projected itself; ethereal wisps of light dancing around its appendages, melding into the more solidly defined aspects of the hologram spontaneously, constantly changing. It had hair even, or the closest thing Shane could conceive as hair, wild and shifting, cascading around that small, iridescent body. In a way, it was more comfortable than unsettling. Part of that could be attributed to its size or its human-like appearance, but if Shane were being honest it probably had more to do with the fact it was designed after a female, which gave it a kind of majestic like feeling. Like something straight from a Fairy Tale.

"Greetings," the voice, smooth and measured, rang out. It didn't quite sound natural, though Shane was unsure if that was because of the digital like quality to the voice itself or the fact it had originated from what was essentially a small, metal backpack, but either way, it was distinctly female, making his assumption correct. "I am the Freelancer Independent Logistics and Integrated Security System; you may call me Filiss, how may I assist-?"

The voice cut off and Shane caught both himself and Hunter leaning forward, as though they could recapture it by closer proximity. Across the room Dustin and Tori looked on with wide eyes, still taken aback by the sudden manifestation.

"Oh," the voice restarted after a pause, quieter and…perhaps more saddened than before. The free-floating light tendrils seemed to respond to the change of mood, sagging down under an invisible weight, losing their previous whimsy.

"You are not Agent Cal. I had been hoping…is he there, with you?"

It took Shane a moment to find his voice after her- it was- there was no question it was a her. The undeniable hope in her voice and the resignation, like she knew but she had to try, like they had to try-

"No," Hunter answered for him, giving Shane a tight frown before looking back at…Filiss. "It's just us."

"Oh," the voice…hologram echoed again, and for a brief second her light flickered dull, fading in the darkness of the room, before returning to her original brightness. "That is…unfortunate."

"Who is he?"

Shane had been so focused on the tiny projection that he almost missed Dustin's question, only caught the tail end of it because the tiny form swiveled towards him, responding to the brunette's voice.

"Agent Cal, I mean," Dustin continued nervously, shrinking back against Tori now that he was under the hologram's gaze.

"Agent Cal is a member of Project Freelancer," the program explained, sounding almost…gentle. But not quite. "He was assigned to evacuation detail for the Zhar-ptitsa colonists."

"What's Project Freelancer?" Dustin seemed to gather more courage as he grew accustomed to the small image's stare.

"Of course," the small head bobbed up and down, thoughtful. "I forgot most colonists are still unfamiliar. Project Freelancer is a specialized force working under the Army branch of the United States of America's military. The purpose of Project Freelancer is to provide support and operatives for missions requiring unique and atypical skill sets."

Filiss didn't so much as turn as she did shift, phasing her body until it was facing the two red rangers, the light rearranging with inhuman ease. "The last directive given to me by Agent Cal was to assist the Zhar-ptitsa colonists in any way applicable, should I be activated. I was under the assumption, given our parting ways, that I was to stay deactivated until the invasion had been quelled, or sufficient reinforcements had been obtained. May I ask which of these two outcomes has occurred?"

Shane glanced over, sharing a quick look with Hunter and knowing, realizing in that second, if things were that bad out there, if this place was abandoned and only robots remained, there weren't any reinforcements. And the invasion sure as hell hadn't been quelled.

"Neither, I'm afraid," Hunter said at last, fingers tightening against the edge of the equipment.

"I feared as much," Filiss replied, sounding almost forlorn and fading- a flaw, maybe, or a signal, to make her more relatable. More _palatable_, for humans.

"What are you?" Shane asked, watching the lights trail around her as she turned, face too brightly lit to make out any definite features.

He had an idea, they all did, they were all so familiar with Cyber –Cam- but he just…he wanted a verbal confirmation. He wanted to focus on this little thing before the buzzing words of Project Freelancer, Agent Cal, and colonists took over his thoughts in their constant loop, threatening to overwhelm him.

He focused on the little things, taking it one step at a time, asking for verification of something he was already certain of.

Just so they knew what they were dealing with.

"I am the Freelancer Independent Logistics and Integrated Security System," Filiss repeated. "I am an AI that was programmed by Project Freelancer to moderate all data collected by our operatives and, should it be necessary, influence any foreign programming that has proven to be a threat to national security. This mission," Filiss continued, form slowly rotating so that she was "looking" at each of them. "I was assigned to Agent Cal to provide support. As we could only manage the resources to send one agent, it was important for him to be as best equipped as possible to mitigate the risk of mission failure."

And that was- that was so painfully like Cyber Cam it almost hurt; a quiet bite in the back of Shane's mind whenever he though he had just managed to numb himself enough. He looked to Hunter, the blond still focused intently on the green projection, determined and thoughtful, and Shane resolved to keep himself together. Hunter could do it; Shane needed to as well.

That was his role here.

When he broke out of his depressed fog Tori was talking, arm still possessively around Dustin, like a shield against the unknown. "What exactly _was_ your mission?" she asked. And really, that was the question wasn't it.

What was any of this? Project Freelancer, a Russian colony, space invaders? What was _any_ of this?

That small, delicate head tilted to the side, considering them, maybe, properly conveying confusion and looked back over her shoulder, up towards Hunter, the one who was closest.

"You do not know?" she asked, bewildered by this idea.

To his credit, Hunter's poker face of quiet focus didn't so much as wince, didn't shift at all, and he carried on the conversation smoothly, without edge. "We're kind of new here," he explained. "Just…treat us like we're completely ignorant."

Filiss considered him for a moment, making Shane think it wouldn't work - she'd call their bluff and deactivate and then where would they be – but then she was nodding, this miniscule shift of light relieving the tension that had swamped Shane in a ridiculous way, for something so insignificant, and then she was talking.

"A solid way to cover a lack of understanding," Filiss allowed. "I will start at the beginning then."

They all lurched forward as soon as her light disappeared, body dissipated away into darkness. Shane had his third mini heart attack in five minutes and feared that was it then, they were done, but then the light came back on, projecting a big, rectangular sign with a foreign logo, printed in what was probably Russian.

"Five years ago the Russian Federal Space Agency launched a foreign world habitation initiative, codename Zhar-ptitsa. The intent of this initiative was to locate and colonize a planet that was habitable by humans."

The rectangle shifted into a round, glowing sphere - the planet - Shane assumed. It was almost akin to Earth in a way, with rough, craggy masses serving as the land, separated by shifting swirls of water; continents and oceans melded together seamlessly.

"After two years of searching, a suitable planet was located and settlements were created. Initially, the participants of Zhar-ptitsa met no resistance and were free to carry out their research and investigation as intended, performing experiments in bio engineering, for acceptable nourishment, and terraforming, inspecting the life that already inhabited this planet, codename: Vasilisa."

"Phase one was successful; establishing a safe and permanent base of operations and a stable line of communication back to the Russian Federal Space Agency."

"I'm guessing all the other phases weren't quite as triumphant," Hunter interrupted dryly, already seeing how things panned out.

It was the same story Earth had already seen about a dozen times. Things would be going along, smooth as can be and then –_ bam_ – aliens.

Always with the aliens.

"That would be correct," Filiss replied. "About a year into settlement the colonists fell under attack. We do not know the exact name for them, but Zhar-ptitsa came to give them the designation Koshmar."

The image changed again, the outline of the hulking aliens just as frighteningly horrible five inches tall as they had been in real life. It wasn't a static picture, not just a rendered model; the small representation was moving, back heaving as though it had lungs to breathe, shifting in that slightness only alive things managed when standing completely still.

It wasn't a pleasant picture for any of them, not now, but after viewing the lifeless bodies, the shells and husks and knowing the extent of the Koshmar's destruction, it struck at Shane's weak spots, still uneasy from the…_things_.

His face, he was sure he had kept it neutral despite the fact none of them were looking at _him_ right now, but despite that Hunter had noticed his discomfort. There was something insanely relieving about how the blond leaned his shoulder against Shane's arm, never once letting his focus waver from the image before him, still…aware enough to do that much. It shouldn't have made that much of a difference.

It did though. Shane leaned back unashamedly, fighting off the wave of sickness that hit his stomach, and breathed in deeply, keeping his eyes forward.

Keep it together.

Push it away.

_Use it._

"The exact reason for the Koshmar's attacks has never been identified, though there are theories. As they have never initiated any direct contact with the Zhar-ptitsa colonists and no formal declaration of war was made, it was assumed that their feud had never been negotiable."

The alien faded away finally, light collapsing back into the holoprojector. Shane released a breath of air he hadn't known he was holding, the tightness in his chest loosening in the shadowed comfort of their room.

Of Hunter's shoulder against his.

When the light returned, the image had blossomed into a small flower, stray wisps circling around its base like constantly shifting soil.

"The predominate theory behind the Koshmar's invasion related to the terraforming experiments conducted by the colonists. The initial assaults did not occur until the colonists had begun to produce successful results with their experiments-"

"But uh…"

And in a second Filiss reappeared, replacing her artistic flower and facing Dustin, head cocked to the side in an almost…patient kind of way. Something about her mannerisms conveying _"carry on"._

It was with that subtle encouragement that Dustin spoke, glancing at Tori quickly as though to ask permission, if his interruption was okay, only continuing on her quiet approval.

"What exactly _is_ terraforming?"

"An excellent question," Filiss replied, and Shane could almost see the relief emanating from Dustin, so glad that he hadn't been shot down as he sagged against Tori, spent. Tired and nervous.

Not used to aiming questions towards people who weren't Cam.

Filiss' "body" disappeared again, and instead of the flower they were treated with images of mushrooms and fruits of various sizes, rotating slowly to allow them a full view.

"The long term plan for Vasilisa had been to not only find a world capable of human colonization, but a place specifically intended towards scientific advancements. It was ultimately designed to be a place of investigative freedom, an escape from political, religious, and public scrutiny. In this instance, the focus of Zhar-ptitsa's first scientific team was on terraforming. As the initial phase of settling on Vasilisa was to make it inhabitable, this was a logical choice."

Tori's eyebrows furrowed, displeased with the slow moving backstory, and began to object. "But what is-?"

"Terraforming," Filiss continued, volume and pace constant, giving no indication of Tori's interruption. "Or Zemlyaformirovaniya-"

"_That's_ a mouthful," Blake murmured, only earning an irritated swat from Hunter for his efforts.

"-is not necessarily a new field of science, though for Zhar-ptitsa's particular applications, it could be easily argued that they reinvented the discipline. Depending on your familiarity with Vasilisa, you may be aware of the numerous fruits, vegetables, and other plant life that has been seamlessly integrated in the wild-"

"Cam said-"

The words were out before Shane could consider them, had thought he kept them to himself until the others snapped their heads toward him, some gazes sharper than others for merely speaking the name, others saddened. Shane stumbled, fumbling with his words, trapped there, until he felt a pressure sliding lightly against his thigh.

Without looking, he knew it was Hunter's hand, warning him to pull it together before they got stuck in this.

Shane moved on, recollecting his train of thought. Taking a deep breath, he started again. "Cam said the wildlife, the plants we were seeing, some of them shouldn't have been able to grow in this climate."

"Originally yes, that had been the case," Filiss replied, her small form replacing the plants from earlier, glowing face turned in his direction. "Based on their inherent molecular make up Earth plants require certain conditions in order to properly grow and flourish. To thrive, they are designed to prosper in certain circumstances, influenced by temperature, moisture, radiant energy, supply of mineral nutrients, and soil composition."

"That's just how plants are, right?" Tori offered quietly, eyes considering as she processed the information Filiss gave them. "They all have certain seasons?"

"On Earth," Filiss began. "This is true."

"But it's not true here?" Tori asked. "On Vasilisa?"

"It was a truth Zhar-ptitsa's scientists had worked to eliminate. To abolish an undisputed fact."

"That sounds…incredibly creepy," Blake murmured, and this time his effort earned him no irritated glares because it was, at this point, true.

Shane remembered the quiet arguments his parents used to have whenever they thought he and his sister Dana were out of earshot; bitter, hushed words traded between them about scientists playing God. He couldn't remember now, who had been on what side. If there even had _been_ differing sides of if they were sharing their discourse together, unifying themselves with displeasure and righteousness.

Who knew, really?

"It is not how it sounds," Filiss argued, recapturing some of Shane's attention into the present. It was split between that and Hunter's hand still resting on his thigh, some bizarre new kind of normality.

Thing was, Shane couldn't find it in him to complain.

In the background, Filiss continued, "The intent had been one of practicality, rather than absolute control. Obviously there was a need for transferring plants native to Earth onto Vasilisa to provide sustenance to guarantee prolonged survival. Despite preparing for extensive travel, Zhar-ptitsa had limited food storage. It was only sensible that they eventually become self-sustaining."

"Meaning they farm their own food." Tori's interjection was more for Dustin's benefit than her's, keeping the brunette in the loop when he didn't have it in him to ask himself. Beside her, the earth ninja gave her a grateful look, chin settling back against his knees with a little less anxiety.

"Or engineer it," Hunter offered, contempt a distant but notable thing in his voice.

The hand on his thigh gave a tentative squeeze, though for what Shane was unsure. Solidarity was the only thing he could think of, or maybe a kind of check in, Hunter communicating he was still in control, despite what he might say.

He needed it, Shane realized. He needed something to ground him almost as badly as Shane needed the touch.

Co-dependency, Cam would call it. Good for teamwork; bad if excessive. There would be a line that needed to be drawn somewhere, Shane thought.

But it wasn't going to happen today.

"Correct," Filiss replied, either not detecting or not addressing Hunter's displeasure. "It took quite a bit of study on behalf of the botanists, but eventually the tests began producing positive results. Durable crops, ones that could thrive under any condition, were created, one of the most significant advancements in the field to date."

"But if that's true, why didn't Earth hear about it?" The rest of the room turned their attention to Tori, the blonde ranger worrying at her bottom lip in an uneasy manner. "That sounds too remarkable to be kept secret. _Someone_ would want to brag about it."

"Indeed." There was something almost humorous about the small projection agreeing with Tori, female to female, knowing too well suspicious things were afoot. "While the Zhar-ptitsa's success was reported to the Russian Federal Space Agency, it was not released to the public. This was mostly due to the lack of progress with recreating the successes made on Vasilisa."

"They tried to…redo the experiments on Earth?" Shane asked, head swimming with the influx of information.

To this point, he was impressed that they, as a group, had managed to keep it together for this long, though there was a good chance they were simply riding the waves of it like Shane was, too tired to really question what was happening.

"Yes." Filiss nodded sagely, as though appreciating his elaboration. "But the results could not be reproduced. Despite following the Zhar-ptitsa's instructions to the letter, the plants simply continued to exist as they did in nature. Only durable in their proper climate and season."

"So there was something on the planet right?" Blake asked, eyes the sharpest and most clear among them. "Something on Vasilisa that wasn't on Earth?"

"That was their thought," Filiss agreed. "A logical inference."

The small, intangible body made another sweep around the projector, pausing as she glanced at each of them, carefully.

Building up the suspense then, Shane knew where this was going.

Things were about to go bad.

"Based on this thinking, the botanists began researching what it was about Vasilisa that made the plants thrive. It was promising research," she explained, methodical and quiet. "Preliminary testing revealed an additional element that had gone unnoticed in the early experiments."

She turned towards Hunter - the largest, to her - one hand still firmly on the shell of her unit, still watching her intently.

"That was all the information the Zhar-ptitsa managed to gather before the invasion began."

Just as Shane suspected.

Filiss continued, calm tones floating over the team, Shane and Tori tense and unhappy, Dustin withdrawn, Blake and Hunter keeping to their poker faces. This was the unpleasant part of the story. The fall.

"Zhar-ptitsa only attempted to make contact once," Filiss explained. "As their initiative was intended to explore unreached territories, the Russian Federal Space Agency had armed them and assigned a security team to the project, but ultimately, these were people of science."

"Did they kill them?" Dustin asked quietly, hands tightening their hold against his knees, quivering, almost like he couldn't bear it.

Even though he already knew the answer.

"The Koshmar eradicated the initial contact team." The tendrils floating around Filiss took on their melancholy, resigned motions again, sagging around her body, quietly mourning. "No further attempts at contact were made."

"What happened next?" Shane asked, throat dry, catching his words, but he pushed through. They needed to know.

"Constant assault," Filiss answered, tone conveying an edge of finality. "The Zhar-ptitsa went on the defensive, pulling all their people back into emergency bases, such as this one, before planning a new approach. Based on the focus of the Koshmar's advances, the colonists theorized their interest was on the terraforming experiments."

Her body solidified, brighter, more like her normal state of appearance, Shane suspected, and Filiss' tone became conversational again, driven by her interest. "Based on the Koshmar's maneuvers, Agent Cal believed they were already familiar with Vasilisa. Judged by their response time alone between the discovery of the new element and their first assaults, Agent Cal supposed that the Koshmar had been monitoring the Zhar-ptitsa's movements on the planet. It may have been part of their claimed territory."

"But if that's true, why didn't they try to boot them off when the colonists first showed up?" Tori asked, voice shaky but her eyes stubbornly focused.

A woman on a mission. She wanted answers.

"Most likely the Koshmar didn't perceive the colonists as a threat," Filiss explained, carefully disregarding the fact that was entirely accurate. "They were harmless. Probably a source of entertainment, something for them to study."

"But then they figured out something big." Hunter's eyebrows were furrowed, eyes staring off to the side as his mind raced, putting the pieces together. "Something the Koshmar hadn't been able to figure out for themselves, and then the colonists weren't harmless anymore."

Filiss paused for a moment, tendrils flowing with a smooth, languid grace, and it looked like she was considering Hunter, almost. Evaluating his worth.

But then she was nodding and the conversation continued, and Shane got lost in it.

"That is the theory," Filiss admitted quietly. "When they did not resort to…extermination, the Koshmar abducted instead. Hypothetically, to study the colonists."

_Or torture them,_ Shane thought.

Or study _through_ torture, but Shane wasn't honestly cruel enough to vocalize what everyone else was probably thinking and, truly, if they had managed to escape that thought on their own he sure as hell didn't want to be the one to drag that ignorant soul down with him.

"But what about the…the robots?" Dustin asked, eyes red and threatening the tell tale sign of tears. "Were those from the Russian Federal Space Agency?"

"No," Filiss replied, hair swirling around her as she faced the earth ninja, light dimming somewhat, lowering the intensity. "The machines are of Koshmar origin, it was through the efforts of Agent Cal and myself that we managed to reprogram them."

Shane could see it, like a distant memory, entering that abandoned facility. The doors had been larger than he expected but he just figured, you know, _space_, so why not. He never even realized the building hadn't been designed for humans.

There was also a quiet flashback to just a few minutes ago, when he was still bewildered and dazed by this glowing projection before him. The informative words echoing in his head, _"…should it be necessary, influence any foreign programming that has proven to be a threat to national security"_.

There was a threat. Filiss took care of it.

Something so small just…she beat them.

That should be frightening.

Shane was snapped back into the conversation by Hunter's authoritative voice beside him, intent and curious, staring down Filiss' form with narrowed eyes. "You said Project Freelancer was a part of the US Army. If that's the case, what the hell was your Agent doing helping out Mother Russia?"

"Despite the numerous advancements in technology and weaponry, it seemed the Russian Federal Space Agency was unable to get a ship anywhere near Vasilisa without being detected and destroyed by the Koshmar. As a result, they had to turn towards other sources in order to provide back up for the colonists. Sources who have more resources at their disposal. In the end, only Project Freelancer had the capacity they were searching for, because only Project Freelancer had the technology they sought. If you are seeking the political answer," Filiss continued, addressing Hunter's initial question, face cocked towards the blond ranger towering above her. "Then it was a gesture of goodwill. One country with experience in advanced space exploration to another."

"And if I wasn't…" Hunter prompted, eyes narrowed.

"Project Freelancer is an espionage group, focusing on things considered unique and atypical. They were aware of Zhar-ptitsa's launch, but beyond that, they were unable to gather further details. Certainly not enough to appease the Director."

There was no halting, no jerked or fumbled movements whenever her head slowly tilted towards the other side, innocent, informative, and perfectly measured.

"It should come as no surprise then," Filiss continued. "That the moment they were given the opportunity to learn more, they took it."

Or, the Director…whoever he was, took it.

Probably the guy in charge then.

"But what made Project Freelancer more special than the Russian Federal guys?" Dustin asked, leaning his body against Tori but, thankfully, focused on Filiss instead of his grief. "Why did…does Project Freelancer have better technology than the Russians?"

"The answer is simple."

She was adapting, Shane realized, for whenever she addressed certain individuals. For Dustin her projection would dim, lessen in intensity, and her voice would be calmer, more soothing. It was with his focus on that revelation that Shane almost missed the rest of Filiss' explanation, but her following words were triggers, ones imbedded into his brain with the same familiarity as his own name.

"Power Rangers," Filiss continued, helpful, informative.

The team did a remarkable job of not reacting, even Dustin, who buried his face against Tori's shoulder, hiding his expression so he'd have no need to school it. Tori's hands were tense, she was shaking, slightly, the barest hints of a tremor wracking her frame, but her face remained deadpan.

Shane himself felt too…deadened to react, had been lost in his own thoughts anyway, so the growing pressure on his thigh, Hunter's grip, was more than enough to keep him in line.

Blake and Hunter were fine of course, because they were better trained, more hardened individuals, whose only discernable tell was increased interest.

Their reactions had been slight.

Filiss noticed them anyway. "You are familiar with them, then?"

"Yes," Hunter responded.

"The Russian Federal Space Agency was not."

The reply almost seemed definite, sealing the unfamiliar colonists' fates on that alone. Luckily Filiss didn't pick up on the sudden gloom she impressed upon them.

She continued on with her explanation, none the wiser. "By presence alone the Power Rangers have spurred technological advancements in the United States since the initial assaults from Rita Repulsa. Organizations such as Lightspeed have even gone so far as to access the Ranger powers and create their own unique set of weaponry. Because of this, and the focus of attacks on the United States, Project Freelancer has managed to glean information from the Lightspeed Organization, Bio Labs, and the Galactic Space Alliance."

"They recreated ranger technology?" Blake asked, sounding far calmer than Shane would have ever been able to manage.

It sounded horrifying, the idea that this organization, these specialist, Director-driven, whatever people had managed to get their hands on _Ranger_ tech, and actually understood it well enough to build their own versions?

Terrifying.

Shane waited, seconds extended painfully long, for Filiss' response, dreading a confirmation.

When she said _"Not quite_", he knew he wasn't the only person in the room who was overcome with relief.

He wasn't sure why that sounded so horrible, only that it was.

…though maybe if…you know, if they used it for good. Then it would just be like having other rangers-

_No_.

No, it wouldn't be. It would be something else. Something he shouldn't think about.

"No," Filiss was saying. "It appeared that Project Freelancer, as with Bio Labs, could not establish a link to whatever it was that powered the Ranger's weaponry. However, information was gathered that helped in the advancement of the Project's already impressive weapon sets. Travel, defense, medical, and projectile components were improved to new and unseen levels. Because of this, Project Freelancer had the edge they needed to be recruited by the Russian Federal Space Agency."

"So they had these…_advancements_," Hunter started, running a distracted hand through his hair while thinking. He chose to release his hold on the equipment rather than Shane's thigh, which- it meant something, but then those eyes were forward again, focused, intent. "But for some odd reason your Freelancer guys only felt like sending one agent."

"It was the only way," Filiss argued, not defensive though; a continued explanation. "Analyzing what little data the Russian Federal Space Agency had acquired during their failed advances, it was decided that the only effective approach would stealth-based. A ship of insignificant size and composition had to slip through the Koshmar's notice, either deemed as harmless or too inconsequential to merit any attention. Due to this strategy, Agent Cal was selected for the mission, as a specialist in stealth and concealment, his duty was to aid the colonists. As most of them were not familiar with combat, he was to coordinate any offensive efforts and additionally, perform reconnaissance on the Koshmar, detecting their weaknesses, both physically and as a military whole."

"One guy can make that much difference?" Blake asked, skeptical, clearly, but also a challenge.

One Filiss didn't need to rise too. "Agent Cal could, and did."

"He got the robots on our side," Dustin reminded, meeting Blake's eyes briefly before looking down, away from the conflict.

The small head nodded, green and brilliant, wisps fading. "Yes. Despite their speed and strength, the Koshmar were not as technologically gifted as the colonists were. At least, the attacking force isn't. It was discovered that once they gained access to the machines coding, the colonists could create programming so intricate the Koshmar were hopeless to undo it. This turned the tide of the Vasilian War."

Beside him, Hunter scoffed quietly, the closest thing to an amused chuckle as could be provoked from him. "They had a name for it too," he said softly, for Shane's ears alone.

The bitter sweet tone in his voice was too…familiar, too comfortable for Shane to dwell on, so it came as a relief when the conversation continued, carrying on without them.

"But that wasn't enough, was it?" Tori asked. Her eyes traveled around the room, taking a measured reevaluation of their surroundings, the emptiness of it. Judging just how long it had been abandoned.

Like the factory town.

It seemed, for once, Filiss did not have a definite answer, her tendrils floating around her aimlessly as she considered this query, the silence drawing on longer and longer as she attempted to reason, to provide thoughtful and _careful_-

Just like Cam would have.

Shane wasn't sure if that was the thought that had him grabbing for Hunter's hand or if it was the entire build up, but either way, he couldn't-

Not alone. He couldn't do this now.

"…I am not sure," Filiss eventually admitted. "I have no way of determining how long I have been deactivated, or the current state of the human resistance."

The fingers didn't respond at first; maybe Hunter was surprised, or distracted (reasonable, they had things they needed to- it was reasonable) but after a second's delay Shane's grip was returned just as strong. Shane from ten-days-ago would mock him for how comfortable it felt, how much easier it was to keep enduring. But Shane of now was the one rocking this particular moment in time and if something as simple as _this_ got him through the next two minutes without screaming then _damnit_, he would take what he could get.

It would get easier, he hoped.

The vague possibility of it _not_ frightened him, but he didn't dare entertain the thought.

Filiss was thinking, form shifting in a frantic flutter as though to broadcast this – Cam would have loved studying her, investigating all the subtle nuances of her communication, her movement – before it all eventually came to a sudden halt, her body solid, posed still, firm.

"Though perhaps," she began, quiet, almost harmless, but that enough to fill Shane's stomach with dread. "Perhaps I have a way of rectifying that, if we can find some functioning computer banks."

It was, Shane knew, the beginning of something immense. They had gained their first, and possibly only, guide on this journey that would end, with no small amount of hoping, in space ships taking them home, in everyone escaping in one piece, in freedom far, far away from this horrible place. That was a small step, but it was going to lead to big, very frightening things.

Because in order to escape, in order for any of those things to be achieved, they had to go exploring first.

Shane was weak enough to admit this thought terrified him.

A feeling only compounded by how Hunter's grip tightened in a most painful way, his face neutral, but clearly, so obviously terrified too.

Which made it that much worse.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-:-

* * *

Endnotes:

To reiterate, I acknowledge that severely bad things have gone down this chapter, however, please note that this is a _angst with a happy ending_ type of story.

So in this madness, you're just going to have to trust me. I mean, I assume there's at least a little bit of trust if you've made it this far, but just to reassure you, I have a plan for this thing. And it's a good one. I'm woefully biased, but vamps seems to like it, so I'll let that statement stand.

Thank you to ValkyrieNyght and Rayne for reviewing the last chapter. I always appreciate input, whatever it is, and for this crazy, soon-to-be crazier story, it's very relieving to know that it makes sense/entertains. I apologize for the delayed update, but as you can tell by the sheer mass of this chapter, and the heavy content, it took a long time to both write and edit. Just, trying to do it justice, you know?

Technical notes:

Just a quick rundown of the three Russians words that might trip you up:

Koshmar: the aliens

Vasilisa: the planet

Zhar-ptitsa: the foreign world habitation initiative

The organization's mentioned that Project Freelancer stole- "borrowed" information from are from the following seasons of Power Rangers.

Lightspeed Organization: Lightspeed Rescue

Bio Labs: Time Force

Galactic Space Alliance: Lost Galaxy

Until next time.


End file.
